Crash of ET409 off Lebanon similar to Boeing 737 Kenya Airways disaster

This is an Airlines/Airport Examiner exclusive report. A high ranking official of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation of the Government of Lebanon media office stated to the Airlines/Airport Examiner on condition on anonymity in a telephone interview today at around 6:45 p.m. Beirut local time, that 15 bodies have been recovered from Flight ET409 which crashed off Lebanon at approximately 2:30 a.m. local time on January 25, 2010.

He had no information on the additional 75 missing passengers and crew members of the ill fated Boeing 737-800 operated by Ethiopian Airlines, and referred further questions to published comments by the Republic of Lebanon Public Works and Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi.

Mr. Aridi held a news conference this morning at about 11:00 a.m. local Beirut time at which he told reporters that his Syrian counterpart has informed him about the recovery of a section of the Ethiopian plane in Syrian waters and that it will be handed over to Lebanese authorities.

CAPTIONS: (ABOVE LEFT) A relative of Lebanese 2-year-old girl Julia al-Hajj who died in the Ethiopian plane crash on Monday, carries her picture during her funeral procession in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010 (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein); (BELOW RIGHT TOP) A relative of Lebanese 2-year-old girl Julia al-Hajj who died in the Ethiopian plane crash on Monday, reacts during her funeral procession in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010 (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein);  (BELOW LEFT TOP) (AP Photo/Hussein Malla); (BELOW RIGHT LOWER) A Lebanese army soldier, carries debris from the Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed on Monday into the sea, as he walks at the sea defense barrier of Beirut international airport runway, south of Beirut, Lebanon, on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010 (AP Photo/Hussein Malla); (BELOW LEFT BOTTOM) Lebanese civil defense workers carry debris from the Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed on Monday into the sea, on Khalde beach, south of Beirut, Lebanon, on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010 (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A slide show follows this article with additional scenes of recovery efforts and grieving.

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The Republic of Lebanon lies on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south.

The Minister also revealed that a victim's body was trapped between rocks in the sea. It hasn't been retrieved yet due to bad weather and high waves, he said.

The exact location of the aircraft's Black Boxes, Mr. Aridi confirmed, has not been determined.

Responding to criticism over the cost of the search efforts, Mr. Aridi stated, "We are being criticized for allegedly paying huge sums of money to bring in foreign ships. Had we not asked for their help, the critics would have said that we are being stingy and we are not thinking about the victims. I will tell you clearly that we haven’t paid a penny yet."

In a related development, a British tabloid newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, with the highest daily circulation of any U.K. paper, reported that Flight ET409 crashed in similar circumstances to a Kenya Airways plane that came down in Cameroon in May 2007 killing all 114 people on board. In both cases the planes were Boeing 737-800s that crashed in bad weather, at night and shortly after take-off.

James Healy-Pratt, an aviation lawyer with London-based Stewarts Law LLP, told the Telegraph, "Based upon our research and investigation into the Kenya Airways crash, the aircraft's spoilers and/or altimeters may have been faulty."

Kenya Airways Flight KQ507, from Douala International Airport in Douala, Cameroon, to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, crashed on May 5, 2007.

Three British families who lost relatives in that crash filed a legal action against Boeing, the aircraft's manufacturers, in Chicago last year, accusing it of supplying a "dangerous aircraft", in an attempt to find out what caused the disaster.

Attorney Healy-Pratt has been approached by relatives of the Ethiopian Airlines crash victims. He urged Ethiopian investigators to publish a preliminary report into last week's crash within three or four months and a final one within 18 months to two years.

"It's important that families know the cause of the crash as soon as possible," he said. "We will be seeking assurances from the Ethiopians and Boeing that every effort will be made to recover all parts of the wreckage."

To date, there have been 3,136 orders placed for the Boeing 737-800. A total of 1,742 aircraft have been delivered, and there are 1,394 unfilled orders. There have been seven accidents involving 737-800 equipment.

One of these was a mid-air collision involving a Brazilian airliner in which 154 people perished on September 29, 2006. Besides the Kenya Airways crash, and last week's crash off Lebanon, a China Airlines Flight 120 from Taipei caught fire after landing at Naha Airport in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan on August 20, 2007. Ryanair Flight 4102 suffered substantial damage in an emergency landing at Ciampino Airport, Rome on November 10, 2008. Bird strikes in both engines were determined to have caused that accident.

On February 25, 2009 a Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 coming from Istanbul, crashed during a landing at Schiphol airport, Amsterdam, resulting in 9 deaths. Preliminary crash investigations focused on a malfunctioning left radio altimeter, which may have resulted in false altitude information causing the auto throttle to reduce power.

Finally, there was the recent crash on December 22, 2009 of an American Airlines Flight 331, which overran the runway at Norman Manley International Airport, Kingston, Jamaica.

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