Ethiopian Airlines confirmed that both pilots of the ill-fated Flight ET302 were seasoned aviators, according to officials. Captain Yared Mulugeta, an Ethiopian-born Kenyan national, had flown the same Boeing 737 Max-8 aircraft since November 2007, while first officer Ahmednur Mohamednur possessed extensive flight experience, the airline's Group CEO revealed during a press briefing in Addis Ababa.
The aircraft, which carried 157 passengers and eight crew members, departed from Addis Ababa's Bole International Airport bound for Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. It lost contact just six minutes after takeoff at 08:44 am Ethiopian time, according to the airline's statement. The flight included 32 Kenyan nationals, 18 Canadians, nine Ethiopians, and eight Americans, among 33 total nationalities.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed expressed condolences through his office, stating, "The Office of the PM, on behalf of the Government and people of Ethiopia, would like to express its deepest condolences to the families of those that have lost their loved ones on Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 on regular scheduled flight to Nairobi, Kenya this morning." This crash represents the airline's second major accident since the 1996 Comoros hijacking tragedy that resulted in 125 fatalities.
The Boeing 737 Max-8 had undergone routine maintenance on February 4, 2019, according to the CEO's disclosure.
