The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder from crashed Boeing 737 MAX 8 sent to Paris for detailed analysis.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – The black boxes from the Boeing 737 MAX 8 that crashed on Sunday in Ethiopia have been sent to France for analysis, Ethiopian airlines said on Thursday.
Addis Ababa said on Wednesday that it was sending the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) abroad because the East African country does not have the required facilities to carry the detailed analysis required to determine the cause of the deadly disaster.
“An Ethiopian delegation led by Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) has flown the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) to Paris, France for investigation,” the airlines said in a statement on Thursday.
The devices will be probed by France’s BEA air accident investigation agency.
Analysts said the decision by Africa’s biggest airline was the correct one.
“To send the data recorders to the USA would be to allow a party with a vested interest to be a judge in its own case,” Awo Allo, a lecturer in law at Keele University in the UK, said.
“Boeing is more than just a company for the US and Ethiopia cannot reasonably expect a judicious outcome from a US investigation,” Awo added.
| Boeing wants suspension of ‘entire global fleet’ of 737 MAX |
Flight ET 302, heading to Nairobi from Addis Ababa, crashed about 50km outside the Ethiopian capital six minutes after taking off.
All 157 people on board – 149 passengers and eight crew – died in the crash.
Previous incident
The crash was the second involving a Boeing 737 MAX 8 model in five months.
In October, Lion Air Flight 610 crashed in Indonesia 10 minutes after take-off, killing 189 people. The cause of that accident is still under investigation.
Before Sunday’s disaster, more than 370 jets of the model were in operation.
Following the latest crash, the European Union and several countries banned the aircraft model from their airspace.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered the temporary grounding of all 737 MAX aircraft operated by US airlines or in US airspace on Wednesday.
US, home of Boeing – the world’s largest aircraft maker, was one of the last countries where the plane model was still allowed to operate.
According to flight tracking website, FlightRadar24, all Boeing 737 MAX jets have now been grounded.
Meanwhile, Boeing recommended a temporary suspension of the “entire global fleet” of the 737 MAX aircraft on Wednesday.
Following Wednesday’s announcement, Boeing shares fell by nearly three percent. The aircraft maker’s stock has gone down by at least 13 percent since Sunday.
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SOURCE: AL JAZEERA NEWS
