Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 flight data recorder recovered

by B. N. Sullivan

There are some new developments regarding the investigation of the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 409, the Boeing 737-800 aircraft that was lost shortly after taking off from Beirut on January 25, 2010. Most importantly, the aircraft's flight data recorder (FDR) has been recovered, and has been sent to France for analysis.

Yesterday, Lebanon's Transportation and Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi announced that a part of the tail section of the aircraft was located by a search vessel in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of a Naameh. Mr. Aridi told the press that the newly discovered wreckage, which was found at a depth of about 45 meters (150 ft), was between 10 and 20 meters in length. Early this morning, divers were able to recover the FDR. The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) has been located, but has not yet been recovered.

The remains of eight more victims who were lost in the accident also have been recovered. According to Reuters, 23 bodies have been recovered to date. The crash of Flight ET 409 claimed the lives of 90 people.

Some wreckage from the Ethiopian Airlines plane also was discovered on the shoreline of Syria, near the port city of Latakia. Syrian authorities have said they will hand over the wreckage to the Lebanese authorities.

UPDATE Feb. 10, 2010: FlightGlobal.com is reporting that divers have recovered part of the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) from the Flight ET 409 crash site. Specifically, "the recorder's chassis has been found but the cylindrical memory unit, and its attached locator beacon, are missing."

Lebanese officials say that recovery personnel are continuing to search for the missing parts.

UPDATE Feb. 16, 2010: Lebanese officials announced that the missing memory unit from the Flight ET 409 cockpit voice recorder has now been recovered from the sea by military divers. The device has been sent to France for analysis.

RELATED: Click here to view  all posts about Ethiopian Airlines Flt 409 on Aircrew Buzz.

Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 409 flight recorders located

by B. N. Sullivan

According to Reuters, a U.S. navy vessel has located the flight recorders from Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 409, the Boeing 737-800 that crashed shortly after takeoff from Beirut earlier this week. A brief news item reporting the find quoted a security official in Lebanon who said, "The U.S. ship located the black boxes 1,300 metres underwater and 8 km west of Beirut airport."

Let's hope the recorders can be recovered now and that their contents are able to be read.

More to follow as details become available.

[Hat tip to Twitter user @SamerKaram for the link to the Reuters article.]

RELATED: Click here to view all posts about Ethiopian Airlines Flt 409 on Aircrew Buzz.

Update on the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 409 accident off the coast of Lebanon

by B. N. Sullivan

More information is emerging about the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 409 accident. Air traffic controllers (ATC) lost contact with the aircraft, a Boeing 737-800 (registration ET-ANB), minutes after it took off from Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, en route to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Flight ET 409 departed Beirut's runway 21 at approximately 02:30 AM local time on January 25, 2010.

A debris field was located off the coast of Lebanon, indicating that the aircraft had crashed into the Mediterranean Sea. An "aggressive" search and rescue operation was initiated by the Lebanese government and military, assisted by United Nations security forces in Beirut.

The airline has confirmed that eight crew members and 82 passengers were on board Flight ET 409. No survivors have been found, however dozens of bodies have been recovered and have been taken to Rafic Hariri University Hospital, according to Lebanon's National News Agency. Ethiopian Airlines said in a press release that 14 of the deceased have been identified so far, including six Ethiopians and eight Lebanese nationals.

The Ethiopian Airlines press release also stated:

The pilot of flight ET409 was a career flight professional with over 20 years of experience flying various aircraft over the expanded network of the airline.

The aircraft B737-800 with registration number ET-ANB involved in the accident has had its regular maintenance service as recently as December 25, 2009 at the maintenance facilities of the National carrier and was declared safe and fit to fly.

FlightGlobal.com reported earlier today that the aircraft had climbed to an altitude of about 9,000 ft before ATC lost contact with it. Weather data showed the presence of cumulonimbus clouds and thunderstorm activity in the area at the time of the accident.

A short time ago, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced that a team was being dispatched to Lebanon to assist that country's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC) with its investigation of the accident. The team will include technical advisors from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Boeing, the manufacturer of the aircraft.

Condolences to the families and friends of those who perished in this accident, and to Ethiopian Airlines.

[Photo Source]

UPDATE Jan 27, 2010: Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 409 flight recorders located - AircrewBuzz.com, Jan. 27, 2010

RELATED: Click here to view all posts about Ethiopian Airlines Flt 409 on Aircrew Buzz.

Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 disappears from radar after taking off from Beirut

by B. N. Sullivan

An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-800 is believed to have crashed into the sea after disappearing from radar minutes after its departure from Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport. Ethiopian Flight ET 409 left Beirut shortly after 03:00 AM local time, en route to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Early reports say the aircraft had seven crew members and 85 passengers on board. [Correction: Eight crew/82 pax, per Ethiopian Airlines press release.]

Reuters is reporting that "residents on the coast [of Lebanon] saw a plane on fire crashing."

More to follow as information becomes available.

UPDATE: Ethiopian Airlines has issued a press release about the accident, confirming 82 passengers and eight crew members on board Flight ET 409. All eight crew members were Ethiopian nationals. Among the passengers, are 23 Ethiopians, 51 Lebanese, one Turkish, one French, two British, one Russian, one Canadian, one Syrian, and one Iraqi.

The accident aircraft is believed to be ET-ANB, a Boeing 737-800 manufactured in 2002, according to FlightGlobal.com's ACAS data. [per Jon Ostrower, @flightblogger for FlightGlobal.com]

At a press conference, Lebanese Transport Minister Ghazi al-Aridi said that the crash site had been located off the coast of the Lebanese village of Na'ameh, which is south of Beirut. Lebanese military boats and helicopters were said to be searching the area for survivors. Reuters reported that four bodies have been found.

Related:

• Update on the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET409 accident off the coast of Lebanon - AircrewBuzz.com, Jan. 25, 2010
• Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 409 flight recorders located - AircrewBuzz.com, Jan. 27, 2010
• Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 flight data recorder recovered - AircrewBuzz.com, Feb. 7, 2010

... or click here to view all posts about Ethiopian Airlines Flt 409 on Aircrew Buzz.