Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash: 6 things to know

An Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed soon after it took off from Addis Ababa on Sunday morning. According to a statement from the airline, the plane was carrying 149 passengers and eight crew members. There are no confirmed survivors, the airline said. Details are still emerging about what happened on flight ET 302, but here are six things to know:

• The flight: The aircraft, en route to Nairobi, Kenya, lost contact just six minutes after taking off, about 8.44 a.m. local time, per CNN.
• Who was on board: Among the passengers were 32 Kenyans, 18 Canadians, eight Americans, eight British citizens, eight Italians, and eight French citizens. In total, the plane was carrying more than 30 nationalities.
• The aircraft: The plane was a Boeing 737 Max 8, the same as the Lion Air jet that crashed last year due to mechanical problems, killing 189 people. According to the New York Times, officials are now investigating whether ET 302 could have been sent into a nose dive due to changes to the flight’s automatic controls.
• The response: In a statement to CNBC, Boeing said it was “deeply saddened” by the crash and will provide technical assistance at the request of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. I’ve reached out to Boeing for further comment and will update if I hear back.
• The cause: In a bulletin sent out on Twitter, the airline said it was too early to speculate the cause of the crash.
• More information: Ethiopian Airlines said it setting up a passenger information center and telephone number, and will provide updated information on its website, ethiopianairlines.com.

We are saddened by the news of an Ethiopian Airlines passenger aircraft that is reported to have crashed 6 minutes after takeoff en route to Kenya. My prayers go to all the families and associates of those on board.

— Uhuru Kenyatta (@UKenyatta) March 10, 2019