There are a barrage of statements and counter charges by Ethiopian Airlines CEO Girma Wake, who accused Lebanese authorities on Wednesday, February 24 of making misleading comments on the cause of the Ethiopian Airlines flight ET409 crash last January 25 shortly after taking off from Beirut (BEY). He is supported by Diriba Kuma, Minister of Ethiopian Transport and Communication. Disagreeing are Lebanese Public Works and Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi with Information Minister Tarek Mitri, both dismissing sabotage and blaming the flight crew for not following instructions by Lebanese Air Traffic Control.
Into this mix are selective leaks of a preliminary report by BEA, an agency of the French government charged with technical data analysis.
The Lebanese newspaper As-Safir, claims to have seen findings by the disaster investigators, suggesting that the Ethiopian pilot lost control of the plane moments before it plunged into the sea off the coast of Naameh, south of Beirut.
CAPTIONS: (ABOVE LEFT) Attorney James Healy-Pratt, Partner and Head of the Aviation Department of Stewarts Law LLP, London, UK (Photo courtesy of Stewarts Law); (BELOW RIGHT) Attorney James Healy-Pratt seated in military jet aircraft (Photo courtesy James Healy-Pratt); (BELOW LEFT) Attorneys in conference room, Stewarts Law LLP, London, UK (Photo courtesy Stewarts Law); (BELOW RIGHT LOWER) ET-ANB Seen just a few days after delivery to Ethiopian Airlines in October 2009 on its first visit to Tel Aviv (TLV), which later sadly crashed on the morning of January 25, 2010 just off the coast of Beirut, Lebanon while operating flight ET409 (Airliners.net/Yochai Mossi); (BELOW LEFT LOWER) The same aircraft which crashed on January 25, 2010, ET-ANB, tail fin landing at dusk at Dubai International Airport (DXB), United Arab Emirates, November 18, 2009. (Wikipedia/A. J. Best - Common Use, Public Domain);
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According to As-Safir, the preliminary report allegedly states “Navigation authorities in Rafik Hariri International Airport and other Lebanese authorities were freed from responsibility. The crash was attributed to a 'human error committed inside the cockpit'.”
Such rhetoric, by all sides, are neither truth nor facts. Instead, they may be preliminary maneuvering to influence public sentiment, forestall lawsuits, deflect responsibility, and encourage out of court settlements.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a UN agency based in Montreal, Canada, which by agreement of its member nations on aircraft accident investigation protocol, states in ICAO Annex 13, Chapter 3, Article 3.1 that "the sole objective of the investigation of an accident or incident shall be the prevention of accidents and incidents. It is not the purpose of this activity to apportion blame or liability."
To learn more about how blame in such cases are determined, as well as the legal rights of accident victims and their survivors, the Airlines/Airport Examiner contacted Stewarts Law LLP in London, England, one of the leading litigators and experts in the field of aviation law. According to a fact sheet by the firm, "In 2008, Stewarts Law represented over 20% of families involved in aviation accidents worldwide, promoted the highest standards of safety, and recovered more than $250 million U.S. dollars for their clients."
Partner and Head of the Aviation Department of that firm, Attorney James Healy-Pratt, answered our questions in great detail, along with an analysis of potential causes. He speaks from his experience both as a lawyer, and a pilot who has flown Robinson R22 and R44 helicopters, and is currently undergoing certification and type rating for other advanced helicopters. He is also a member of the New York Bar, and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. Here is a summary of his responses.
Q. Mr. Healy-Pratt, specifically on the ET409 incident, can you offer any theories, or information on the possible causes of this tragic event, and your expectations for a just and equitable settlement?
"There are a number of factors that may have affected the aircraft. In our experience, accidents almost always occur because of a number of factors combining together, rather than a single cause. Potential factors to consider include:
1. Meteorological Factors
These include lightning and turbulence. There have been reports that the aircraft was struck by lightning several times prior to impact. Turbulence alone may have been a contributing factor, particularly if the aircraft encountered a storm cell. While it does not usually cause crashes, it can greatly increase the workload on a pilot.
2. Spatial Disorientation
Spatial disorientation can occur during steep banking or acceleration and is particularly dangerous in night-time and bad weather conditions. This disorientation can result in pilots' perception disagreeing with reality. In these states, if not corrected, pilots can lose control of an aircraft.
3. Engine Failure / Technical Problems
Reports of a fire may indicate that the aircraft suffered engine failure. Aircraft are designed to be able to fly on only a single engine, however if this was complicated by other factors, control may have been lost.
4. Failure of the spoiler actuators
An accident with very similar facts to the Ethiopian Airlines accident is Kenya Airways Flight KQ507 in 2007, where a Boeing 737-800 crashed shortly after takeoff in night-time and bad weather conditions. We were instructed by families in that accident to seek answers and pursue claims for compensation. No accident report has been released. We have commenced litigation in the US as a result of our concerns that the spoiler actuators, hydraulic pumps which control the spoilers, may have jammed or asymmetrically deployed leading to the loss of control of the aircraft."
Q. You didn't mention the evidence which we uncovered from independent reliable sources of a possible radical maneuver to avoid collision with a second aircraft, namely Ethiad EY533, inbound from Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH), after ET409 was given clearance to return to BEY with engine problems that developed on the departure climb out. Would you care to comment?
"Thanks for this. It is an interesting potential cause and spotting the start of the accident sequence is critical. There is a school of thought that the ET crew lost situational awareness during the course of an extended maneuver."
Q. In determining compensation resulting from any aviation accident, how does responsibility by parties who may have contributed to the accident affect the assignment of damages?
"Following any international aviation accident there are a number of tiers of potentially liable parties.
The airline is liable under international conventions (the Warsaw Convention, the Warsaw Convention as Amended by the Hague Protocol, and the Montreal Convention). Their liability is absolute which means that they are liable to pay compensation to the relatives of deceased passengers. The amount of that compensation will depend upon three primary factors:
1. The economic loss suffered by the dependents: this principally depends upon how much dependents were dependent upon the deceased passenger and how much the deceased passenger earned.
2. Which of the Conventions applies: The Warsaw Convention and the Warsaw Convention as Amended by the Hague Protocol contain liability limits. The Montreal Convention is effectively unlimited.
3. The law that is applied to calculate the compensation: Different jurisdictions calculate compensation due to dependents in a different manner. The choice of jurisdiction that should be used to calculate the compensation is set out in the Conventions. Essentially this jurisdiction is chosen by the family of the deceased passenger from one of the following: the domicile of the airline; its principal place of business (if different); where the ticket was bought; or for cases governed by the Montreal Convention, the domicile of the passenger."
Thank you, Mr. Healty-Pratt. Due to editorial limitations on the length of our dispatches, we will continue this discussion in our next report.
We would like to hear your thoughts. Please leave comments below or by email and subscribe to get future updates.
Comments
I'm alarmed at the lack of knowledge Mr Healy-Pratt demonstrates about certain aviation incidents. The spoiler jamming was particular to the SF version of the 737, which was not in use. His law firm's website also lists a number of aviation accidents but gives incorrect causal factors for several of them.
Interesting coverage.
Whoa, Joel. Mr Healy-Pratt sounds like he should hit the books...great coverage and don't let up, Joel. I think it is important for everyone who knows anything about this to get answers and the families to get a truthful closer. What is done is done, but someone has to say or do something for many to move forward.
BEA follows ICAO rules and works in collaboration with Boeing and the Ethiopian and Lebanese governments but these governments keep leaking partial information which they wrongly present as official info.
One problem is that the evidence is detained by the Lebanese authorities. Can we trust them to provide all of it to BEA, even if it disproves their claim that there was a pilot error?
Truly speaking there is some sort of relation between the Lebanon officials and the "investigators". It seems that they are hiding the facts which will be reveled one day in future.
Thank you for your great coverage of the Ethopian Airlines crash.
Joel Siegfried,
The Etihad Airways flight was coming from Abu Dhabi, not Dubai.
Pierre Bonardi,
The BEA already has both the CVR and FDR, the most critical components in an air disaster investigation, so what evidence are you referring to?
Memo,
You are basically saying this has become an international conspiracy. You're also giving the Lebanese government too much credit by saying they have the ability to influence and cover up and international investigation being led by the BEA in collaboration with Boeing and NTSB. So if there is a cover up, the BEA, the NTSB, and Boeing are all involved. That's a very bold claim to make.
How do you find these people and get them to talk to you. Great job, Joel!
Concerning a comment left below by G on February 26, at 11:20 P.M.:
Thank you very much G. You are absolutely right. I had Abu Dhabi written in my notes, and I even had the correct IATA airport code for Abu Dhabi, AUH, but instead wrote Dubai in error.
I appreciate your taking the time and effort to correct me, and I will, of course, also make the correction within the dispatch.
Many thanks again for your sharp eyes.
Concerning a comment left below by Billie on February 26, at 11:38 P.M.:
Most persons contacted who were not directly involved with the incident have been willing to talk to me.
There were eyewitnesses at Beirut International Airport (BEY) who spoke anonymously to my colleague in Lebanon because they were forbidden to discuss this matter with the media, under threat of being fired.
There were also some who refused to comment beyond media release statements. These included government officials of both Lebanon and Ethiopia, and to a lesser degree, the NTSB.
I have not directly contacted BEA or ICAO as yet, though I may do so, Both agencies are very restricted in what they may publicly disclose. They may respond to requests for general background information.
Finally, EXAMINER.COM has issued a Letter of Assignment requesting an in country interview in Addis Ababa with Ethiopian Airlines officials, and press travel to ADD and BEY. A decision by EAL is pending. Wish me luck
Regarding a comment by 737guy posted below on February 26, at 7:22 A.M.:
Without trying to dispute your point, or defend Mr. Healy-Pratt and his law associates, I will say that everyone whom I contacted at Stewarts Law LLP were very open and willing to talk with me, and answered all of my questions in great detail. Their responses exceeded my expectations.
In all probability, 737guy, they will respond to you as well, should you wish to directly contact Mr. Healy-Pratt or others in his firm on the points that you have raised in your comments.
Contact information by telephone, email, and postal mail, are posted on their web site for every staff member.
I have been advising those who have contacted me for advice to seek an opinion from a qualified legal source. Mr. Healy-Pratt has offered to provide such opinions without charge or obligation, and I am fairly certain that other aviation law attorneys would also do likewise.
@G. Beside the "black boxes", BEA has to analyse the parts retrieved by the Lebanese teams and reports from pathologists who examined the bodies. I don't say the Lebanese are hiding this evidence from BEA. That's what the Ethiopians say.
These venomous Ethiopian-Lebanese exchanges will result in making BEA's conclusions look biased, whatever they are.
This is very unfortunate and won't help the families of the victims.
No body is talking about the fire before the plane crashed in the sea. How could that be the pilot's fault?
@Pierre Bonardi: the way I see it, the Lebanese gov't is the one leaking information, misleading or not. Can you, plz, site any leakage of info regarding this matter from the Ethiopian gov't side, except accusing Lebanese for doing so?
For sure, its easy to notice the conspiracy!!!
Ya, I second that "N"! It's just the twisted nature of the world, the poor is always in the fault. That's what we see. I have been following this case from the beginning, and now it reach's to the point where greed driven law firms and their associates run to make the most of it by narrating & selling their pt. less ideas far from the truth.
They are cooking something, we knew it by its smell!
I agree with N, whenever there was a accident happened, regardless on land, air, sea. All parties would want to pay the less as possible. I think the victims of ET409, including the families of the flight crews would really want to know the TRUE CAUSE of the crash. I understand this will not bring the dead back, but, if it was my family or friends, I would want to know why it happened, thus give me closures.
I agree that the Lebanese attitude has been highly questionable, as they ruled out a terrorist attack from the start.
Now, the question is: will they give investigators access to all the evidence? Or will they hide suspicious fuselage parts and edit out certain details of the pathologists' reports?
The trouble, in this case, is that two of the parties have conflicting interests and one of them (Lebanon) detains crucial evidence that it can either provide or conceal.
The lebanese guys act like crooks - why don't the hell shut up until the investigation is completed? Why are they tampering with evidence?
The NTSB and Boeing will figure it out eventually, if they don't know already.
yes, It looks like to me something covered up here. Why the Lebanese authorities acted in unusual ways??? The Ethiopians are still professionally wait for the truth. It is my great hope that Lebanese authorities come to the TV and apology for misleading the whole world and the earlier is the better. I am sure they will take advantage of the blackbox result and tell us the truth and apology not just for Ethiopian but for all civilized world. Thank you!
...ris strange...the one thing I can't forget is that there were military excursions going on that day...I believe it was hit by, a military missile...
BREAKING NEWS! (part 1)
According to the investigation by the Ethiopian weekly, The Reporter, Lebanese authorities have been committing a series of deliberate tampering of evidence, withholding of information and preventing access to Ethiopian investigation teams sent to Beirut.
"Reliable sources have disclosed to The Reporter that the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) was tampered with by the Lebanese. The professionals that went to inspect the CVR are said to have found that recorded segment of several minutes was deleted.
...The recording should have included segments from the time the chokes were removed from underneath the wheels...However, some parts before the two minute recording available and after it were missing."
BREAKING NEWS! (part 2) CVR
"There is only recording of the conversation during take off. And you can hear what the pilots were being told by the tower control. The clearance that has been given to the pilots while flight ET-409 was taxiing is missing. The conversation made some time after the plane took off is also missing. When the Ethiopian professionals asked to listen to the tape for the second time the Lebanese authorities refused.”
BREAKING NEWS! (part 3) - BODIES
On Jan 25, the director general of the Lebanese Civil Aviation Authority told the Ethiopian delegation that 25 bodies had been recovered. At the Rafiq Hariri Hospital morgue, however, the Ethiopians found 14 bodies. When they asked the physicians where the rest of the remains were they were told that the hospital received only 14.According to the sources, bodies are part of the major sources of clue to the cause of a crash. The injury inflicted on bodies is important in identifying the type and cause of an accident.
“Was there a fire on the plane? Was there an explosive or was the plane shot down? The information investigators gather from bodies is crucial.”
In addition, some bodies of the Lebanese passengers were handed over to their families before the investigation process got underway.
“The Ethiopian delegation was not given access to those bodies. It was also not allowed to talk to families of the victims.”
BREAKING NEWS! (part 4) - BLACK BOX
"Reports from Lebanon and official statements had indicated that the black box was located on January 29, adding that it would only take eight hours to send divers and bring it up.
Officially, though, the Lebanese said it was retrieved on February 14, fifteen days after they said they detected the signal from the black box.
The Ethiopian team was also told that the memory chip of the CVR was missing when they arrived in Paris. When the Lebanese were asked for permission to inspect the CVR as soon as it was retrieved in Beirut, they are reported to have refused claiming that they could not unseal the container."
BREAKING NEWS! (part 5) - WITNESS
"The other big mystery has to do with a witness that vanished into thin air. Officials of the Lebanese Civil Aviation Authority on the first day of the accident conducted an interview with an army officer who said he saw the plane explode into a ball of fire and plunge into the sea.
And when American and the French investigators came to Beirut the Lebanese officials are reported to have told them that they had this interview on record.
But when later they were asked for the recording of the interview, they failed to provide it. The witness also could not be available."
SOURCE: The Reporter (en.ethiopianreporter.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2317&Itemid=26)
According to the Ethiopian Reporter, "Ninety two percent of the plane’s body still remains under sea. The Lebanese authorities took some parts of the wreckage and are said to have locked it up.
'The Lebanese authorities recently announced that the fuselage, the main body of the aircraft, was found. How can it take so long to locate this?'" said the source.
Does anyone know if anyone acted as strange and Phobic as the Lebanese acted since this plane crushed? I don't. That itself makes me think they are hiding something.
Despite a consistent position that there will be no statements given by the Ethiopian side regarding the investigations into the causes of the crash of ET-409 off the coast of Lebanon, one thing though has been made clear by officials here - that nothing has yet been ruled out—including sabotage.
An investigation by The Reporter has revealed that in addition to breaching the “gag agreement’ between high officials of both countries, the Lebanese side has also been committing a series of deliberate tampering of evidence, withholding of information and preventing access to Ethiopian investigation teams sent to Beirut.
A 13-member Ethiopian team, comprising senior pilots, medical personnel and other professionals, went to Beirut on January 26.
Reliable sources have disclosed to The Reporter that the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) was tampered with by the Lebanese. The professionals that went to inspect the CVR are said to have found that recorded segment of several minutes was del
very strong opinions on this. joel, keep uncovering the truth.
how come the fell to mention that they where caring a dead body from Lebanon to addis? that they might have planted a bomb or something.
The Lebanese ruled out sabotage a few hours after the crash -- a stupid move. Since this is a dead give away that they were extremely anxious (to say the least) of such a possibility. No one under normal circumstances jumps into such categorical conclusion so soon after a plane crash. To add to this strange statement, their behavior on the days afterwards were also very suspicious. It just seems that the Lebanese know something detrimental to their interest about the events around this crash and they are scrambling to hide facts or destroy evidence For the sake of the truth and future aviation safety in general, I hope all who can influence the process to ensure fairness and transparency will do so and all involved parties (the Lebanese, those who participated in the search & rescue, the airline, and especially BEA) maintain professional integrity.
We will waiting justice from GOD !!! we know the plane is hit by rocket or .... that stupid arabs hide the truth but the truth is hide not die one day that all truth was come out.
This plane crash has become a screen on which both Lebanese and Ethiopians project their own self-doubts and prejudices. Ethiopians are acting as if it's impossible that their vaunted national airline could have made a mistake, that the pilot could have turned in the wrong direction, that a small but critical piece of maintenance could have been missed. Ethiopian Airlines is now planting silly stories in the Ethiopian media suggesting Israeli warplanes shot down the flight to kill a Hezbollah leader rumored to be on board and trying to sow the idea that because Lebanon has been torn by civil and external war that the flight crashed due to Lebanese sabotage. It is silly. Generally, if a plane flies into a thunderstorm and crashes, it should be assumed the thunderstorm caused the crash unless there is an overwhelming amount of evidence suggesting otherwise. Aside from some off-the-wall statements by Lebanon's health minister, there is really no public evidence of that sort.
In response to Asmarino, I think you should read The Daily Star. There is a lawsuit against Boeing regarding ET409. The expert mentioned that in his 30 years of experiences in aviation, he never seen a case that the memory unit will separate from the base. Also, it talks about a single pilot error cannot crash a plane, it has to start out by a mechanical failure in the plane.
Mr. Journalist, I appreciate some of the points you have risen citing your source. I read a report today which it seems has a little bit extra information, but I have some doubts on its few assertions. No doubt I know that Boeing model is a good choice of passengers and airways of the world. Here comes but a faulty design of the plane as a suspected cause for the crush appears to be slanderous and defamatory given that same models of the plane are serving well in Ethiopian Airlines and else where.
Likewise, a technical problem could not be a solid cause. Two solid justifications:1 the plane had been technically fit by the plane maker weeks before the crash, and at the day of the flight, landed peacefully with out a sign of technical problem. So one might wonder how a plane landing peacefully came to a crash hours after its peaceful landing, minutes after the next take off. This might sound reasonable had the plane crushed half its way, but bizarrely was as soon as it takes off.
I have worked in the Ethiopian Air lines offices for many year's Ethiopian airlines never faced such crash ever in more than 55 years of the Avation expriance .It is difficult to guess exactly the cause of the crush because most crashes does not have single cause 'when we came to technical prolem as me it is not a case for ethiopian air lines to cras due to improper maintanance because Ethiopian airlines have among the best Air craft maintanance team in the world and best in Afica As we know Ethiopian avatin gives maintanance service to more than 10 African airlines and Ethiopian Avation Acadamy is one of the top 3 best recognized avation accadamy in Afrca by the WORLD AVATION ANALYSTS it gives training to African anf midel east and ARAB nations in maintanance and pilot training so i am 95 percent confidentebut that the plane crush can not be ue to maintanance ,the second is Ethiopian pilots are Known for more than 50 years efficent with out crash air teransport unless the hajacard
The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) why the container open before its hand over to French investigator. There is big secret there. USA till now doesn’t say anything about this tragedy. To be the air flights sever it needs every one involvement there. The Lebanese official should govern by international law.
Any news???????????
why haven't we heard anything about the cause of the accident?what did really happen to ET-409?It seems like it is a forgotten subject.We need to know what happened to our plane!!!!And what happened to Air-India recently is a similar story .what is going on ?
WHY I S 92 % OF THE AIRCRAFT STILL UNDER SEA? WHY ISN'T THE LEBANESE GOVERNMENT COOPERATING ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES TO UNDERTAKE ITS OWN ANALYISIS? WHY ARE THEY KEEPING SOME INFORMATIONS AND REFUSE TO PROVIDE THEM TO ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES?
sorry for the grammatical problem on the above pros! All I wanted to say was that there is some thing hiden behing this accident and the lebanese government should cooperate with the ethiopian airlines to uncover the truth! I personally do not believe that the cause of the accident is human error because the captain has 25 years of experience and is one of the embarrassed pilots in the Ethiopian. there are also reports that the aircraft was seen exploding in the air therefore premature conclusions should not be made as the causes of the accident are still unclear!
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