Copyright Photo: Jay Selman. ET-ANB arrives at Dubai before the crash.
Ethiopian Airlines (Addis Ababa) tragically lost its ex-Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS ET-ANB (msn 29935, ex EI-CSW) this morning (January 25) off the coast of Lebanon (not newly-acquired ET-AMZ). ET-ANB was built in 2002 and was delivered to Ethiopian on September 12, 2009. Flight ET 409 had just departed Beirut en route to Addis Ababa with 90 passengers and crew on board. There were reports of thunderstorms in the area. Search crews are looking for debris and any possible survivors.
Ethiopian issued this initial press release:
07:02 AM – Local Time
Ethiopian flight ET-409 scheduled to operate from Beirut to Addis Ababa on January 25th lost contact with the Lebanese air controllers shortly after take off. The flight departed at 02:35 Lebanese time from Beirut International Airport.
Flight ET-409 carries 82 passenger plus 8 Ethiopian Crew members. Out of the total passengers 23 are Ethiopian, 51 Lebanese, 1 Turkish, 1 French, 2 British, 1 Russian, 1 Canadian, 1 Syrian, 1 Iraqi nationals.
A team is already working on gathering all pertinent information. An investigative team has already been dispatched to the scene and we will release further information as further updates are received.
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