According to a brief media release issued by Ethiopian Airlines today, February 23, at 12:30 p.m. local Addis Ababa time, "All bodies of the victims from ET-409 accident have now been recovered and identified. Arrangement is being made to repatriate bodies of the Ethiopian and other nationals to their respective countries."
Flight ET409 crashed into the sea near Beirut on January 25, 2010 shortly after taking off, killing all 90 persons aboard the Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The plane was headed to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.
It has taken the better part of one month to recover all of the victims.
The airline continued its statement, below:
CAPTIONS: (ABOVE LEFT) Tail fin livery colors of ET-ANB Seen just a few days after delivery to Ethiopian Airlines in October 2009 (Airliners.net/Yochai Mossi); (BELOW RIGHT) Lebanese marine commandod carry parts of the wing Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 which crash Monday, at the public beach of Ramlet al-Baida, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010 (AP Photo/Hussein Malla); (BELOW LEFT) Lead flight attendant Seblewengel Seyoum (NewsDire.com); (BELOW RIGHT LOWER) Greg Stemm, Odyssey Marine Explorations CEO and Cofounder (Photo courtesy Odyssey Marine Explorations); (BELOW LEFT LOWER) ICAO headquarters in Montral (Wilipedia/Common Usage Public Domain); (BELOW RIGHT BOTTOM) NTSB official seal (AP)
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"The investigation team is also continuing its task to compile a preliminary fact finding report.
However, as it stands today, there are vital information and facts missing to complete the investigation. The investigation team needs to collect these critically important information and facts to prepare the preliminary fact finding report and proceed to the analysis stage. Meanwhile, any indication of cause of the accident will remain speculative, incorrect and misleading.
Ethiopian Airlines will continue to cooperate with the investigation team to find the true cause of the accident."
The names of all passengers who perished in this tragedy are listed here. A total of 82 passengers and 8 air crew perished in the crash. There are also several memorial web sites set up to remember the victims, including one at ET409.org, and several groups on Facebook.
The recovery vessel, Odyssey Explorer, which took over salvage operations from its sister ship Ocean Alert, both owned and operated by Odyssey Marine Explorations of Tampa, Florida, has participated in recovery efforts at the invitation of the Republic of Lebanon. It is still on site. The Airlines/Airport Examiner conducted an earlier interview with Greg Stemm, Odyssey CEO and Cofounder. 
Quoting from that report, Mr. Stemm said, "The Odyssey Marine Exploration operations team has extensive experience in finding and recovering aircraft in the deep ocean. The company's marine manager is Roy Truman, whose vast experience includes serving as project manager for the recovery of the solid rocket boosters from the Space Shuttle Challenger, and leading teams during the location and recovery of aircraft parts and components of the Air India 747 crash off the coast of the Republic of Ireland in 2,000 meters of water (6,562 feet) and the South African Airways 747 crash off Mauritius in 4500 meters of water (14,763 feet). Other Odyssey team members have participated in many of the most complicated deep-ocean search and recovery operations conducted during the past 30 years."
In a related development, the Lebanese daily L'Orient Le Jour is reporting that according to information obtained by al-Markaziya news agency, the Lebanese government will publish a preliminary report on the crash this week while awaiting a final report from the BEA. BEA, an agency of the French government, has been tasked with investigating all evidence relating to the fatal crash of ET409, and carefully determining the factors contributing to it, based upon technical and scientific analysis.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a United Nations agency which is based in Montreal, Canada, sets protocol for investigating aviation accidents. Under ICAO Annex 13 rules, governments are required to report accident investigation findings to the ICAO. This rule also serves as a "gag order" in effect, designed to limit and inhibit leaks, and unauthorized reports on the progress of an investigation.
Aircraft accidents which occur in the United States or its territories are investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). It would
be highly unusual for any other government agency in the U.S. to release preliminary accident findings prior to an NTSB final report. A full investigation of such accidents normally take form 12 to 18 months. Such final reports contain a wealth of information, data, photos, supporting documents and testimony.
Agencies such as NTSB and BEA are independent, well qualified, respected, fair and impartial. However, their findings can only be used to "prevent future accidents or incidents. It is not the purpose of this activity to apportion blame or liability." My special thanks and appreciation to Assistant Solicitor Peter Neenan, of the Aviation Department of Stewarts Law LLP of London, for this important correction.
Please watch for a future dispatch on aviation law, assessment of damages and liabilities, victim's legal rights, and compensation.
We would like to hear your thoughts. Please leave comments below or by email and subscribe to get future updates.
Comments
Thanks for explaining how the investigation process works in the US and contrasting it with what is happening in Lebanon. Thought-provoking.
Thanks for keeping on top of this story.
Joel, you need to verify your information. The report the Lebanese government is going to release is a Lebanese Army report about its search operations for human bodies and not about the cause of the crash.
"Cabinet, furthermore, did not take any decision to close the file on the plane crash incident pending an official report from the Lebanese Army about the search for remains of the remaining victims."
The preliminary report by the BEA has already been handed to the Lebanese government and after briefing the families of the victims, the report will be released to the public.
It seems somewhat surprising that they were able to recover all the bodies, but, of course, that is good news for the families left behind.
Keep up the great reporting, Joel!
This is wrong, how can Lebanese Officials release any kind of preliminary report before the BEA had finished investigating. Maybe they are trying to poison their own people, saying it is pilot error...
From NOW Lebanon:
"An unnamed source from the French Investigation and Analysis Bureau (BEA) told As-Safir newspaper in an interview published on Friday that the last sentence uttered by the pilot of the Ethiopian airliner that crashed last month off the Lebanese coast was, “We are done for. May God have mercy on us.”
This comes after the investigation team arrived in Beirut on Thursday night to inform the Lebanese government of the findings of the black boxes, which were sent to Paris for data analysis.
The team met with Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Public Works and Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi at the Grand Serail prior to Thursday’s cabinet meeting to inform them of the draft of the final report on the crash."
From NOW Lebanon:
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Investigative committee returns to Beirut, heads to Grand Serail
February 18, 2010
The National News Agency (NNA) reported on Thursday that members of the investigative committee of last month’s Ethiopian plane crash retuned to Beirut.
Last week, the investigative committee headed to Paris to retrieve the black box data.
After arriving at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport, the delegation headed to the Grand Serail to inform Lebanese officials on the information extracted from the second black box and its recordings.
The investigation's outcome will remain highly confidential until the relevant Lebanese authorities release the information, the NNA added.
Concerning several comments left by G below, I am very grateful to you for these updates, and all of your postings. It is a blessing to have such thoughtful, alert, and intelligent readers. Many thanks for your taking the time and effort to read my dispatches, make corrections, and share your information with others.
This is good news for the families so they can lay the bodies to rest.
At least the family members have some closure. Hope the aviation industry can learn from this tragedy.
This is important to family members - but I never imagined they would be able to recover all of the bodies.
Now the families can bury their loved ones. It must be a relief for them.
From NOWLebanon.com about the BEA preliminary report:
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Hariri tells cabinet he will present plane crash report to victims’ families next week
February 24, 2010
Prime Minister Saad Hariri informed ministers that he would brief the families of the victims of the Ethiopian plane crash on the investigative committee’s preliminary report on the incident, Information Minister Tarek Mitri said following the Wednesday meeting of the cabinet.
According to Mitri, the cabinet discussed the workers who participated in the search and rescue operations and investigation following the January crash of the airplane. He cited specifically the divers, employees at the Rafik Hariri University Hospital, Civil Defense and Civil Aviation agencies.
excellent reporting. i'm surprised all of the bodies were found, taking one month's time.
A terrible tragedy indeed, but now there's some closure for the victims' families with the bodies being recovered from the Lebanon crash.
THE GENERAL CONCEPTION IN THE AVIATION SAFETY CENTERS OF THE WORLD, THE ETHIOPIAN AIRCRAFT MUST HAVE BEEN HIT BY A ROCKET OR BY AN EXPLOSION OF A BOMB ON BOARD. IT IS CLEAR AS THE AIRCRAFT TOOK OFF AND AT THE TIME OF EXPLOSIONS AS SEEN BY EYE WITNESSES IT WAS OVER NAAMEH, WHERE THE TERRORIST PALISTIANS AND ALLIES OF HIBULAH HAVE A FORTIFIED CAMP AND THAT IS FROM WHERE THE ROCKET WAS LUNCHED, WHEN THE CAPT SAW IT AND AS REPORTED HE TOLD HI S CO-PILOT TO TURN RIGHT, TO EVADE THE ROCKET, BUT IT SEEMS IT WAS TOO LATE OR THE ROCKET IS HEATSEEKING. ITS SEEMS THERE IS PRESSURE FROM HISBULAH OR IRAN OR THE PALISTINIANS ON THE GOVERNMENT FOR A COVER UP THAT IS WHY THEY ARE DRAGING MAKE A FINAL ANNOUCMENT , WAITING FOR THE STORY TO BE FORGOT. BUT IT WONT, ICAO AND THE FRANCE AND ETHIOPIA GOVEVERNMENT AND WOLRD OPINION AND THE RELATIVE OF THE CREW AND PASSENGERS WHO PERISHED IN THIS SUSPECT ACT OF TERRORISM WILL WANT A VARIFIED REASON AND THE TRUTH AND THE PERPETRATORS PUT TO JUSTICE, WHICH IF
A terrible tragedy, but at least the remains can be taken care of by family now. Hopefully we'll find out what caused the crash to prevent future ones.
This whole story is intense. I am glad that the families will get some closure. Great coverage, Joel. You really took something and brought all the captivating moments of this real-life disaster and really kept me as well as many other readers intrigued.
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