They say air travel is the safest mode of transport but today 10 March is a dark day for relatives of the lost souls on the Ethiopian Airline Max 8 that crashed barely 8 minutes after take off. The world continues to scratch its heads for answers as to the cause of the Max 8 air crash operated by Ethiopian Airline the most profitable carrier on the continent. The carrier was only four months old enroute Nairobi, carrying an estimated 149 passengers and eight crew.
Could Boeing be to blame for this crash seeing that this is the second crash in five months involving aircrafts it has manufactured. The first crash involved a Max 8 Lion Air plane that had been delivered only 2 1/2 months earlier nose-dived into the Java Sea shortly after takeoff on Oct. 29, killing all 189 on board. The pattern of crashing shortly after take-off is very coincidental. We are told Boeing Co. is aware of the Ethiopian crash reports and is monitoring, it said in a statement on its website.
Or could it be poor safety standards by Africa’s most profitable airline? Has the airline management focused too much on dominating African skies at the expense of the need for effective risk management through safety standards?
We consider this route with inference to a preliminary report by Indonesian investigators on Lion Air Crash a similar aircraft. The report highlighted poor safety procedures and the inability of pilots to gain control of a malfunctioning aircraft may have contributed to the Lion Air crash, the first accident involving a 737 Max since the model entered service in May 2017.
Dominating African skies but not at expense of safety standards
Ethiopian Airline is on an aggressive roll to dominate African skies through strategic partnerships with the nations such as Zambia, Malawi and Nigeria. Most recently ET partnered with Zambia in a 55%: 45% shareholding that will see the rebirth of Zambian Airways in Q3:19.
News about crew and passenger safety will surely make shareholders nervous and see the need to relook its risk management frameworks which allowed malfunction through the cracks causing death.
This should be used as a wakeup call for other airlines that may require to step up safety standards or better still have Boeing aircraft just in case the problem is Boeing specific.
Perhaps terrorism
Terrorism is another possibility that can not be 100% ruled out seeing that the region has experienced pockets of attacks. However if it is terrorism, then the concern will be how the terrorists slipped through the screening checks. Its all speculation at this point.
A detailed technical report will be provided for the investigation after the black box is located.
Our hearts are with those that have lost loved ones in the sad air disaster. Our deepest condolences.
More updates on ET crash to follow.
