Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed said they were having flight control problems

The pilots of the Ethiopian Airlines flight that crashed on Monday told air traffic control they were having “flight control problems” before the crash.

The Airline’s CEO Tewolde GebreMariam told CNN that suggests the plane was not responding to pilots’ inputs and they were losing control of the aircraft.

GebreMariam said the flight data recorders “will be sent overseas,” rather than being read in Ethiopia, which does not have the technical capability to do it.

He did not say where, specifically, they would be read.

The CEO said the pilots were aware of airworthiness directive issued after the Lion Air crash in October and had additional training.

Meanwhile, Fiji Airways, in compliance with the directive by Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority, has suspended all Boeing 737 MAX 8 operations to and from Australia.

A spokesperson for the airline company says while Fiji Airways is confident in the airworthiness of their Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft and their robust training programme, they respect Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority’s position.

[Source: CNN]