The most modern plane has already been crushed twice | A …

For the second time in less than six months, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashed a few minutes after take-off, putting an end to the lives of the 157 people on board, raising new questions about the safety of a crucial model for Security. future plans of the American giant aeronautics.

On Sunday, 157 pbadengers and crew died from a 737 MAX operated by Ethiopian Airlines. It's the same model that crashed in Indonesia in October, killing 189 people on board.

Only the flight data and the badpit conversation in the two black boxes on the aircraft could provide tangible evidence of what may have caused the last accident: technical problems, pilot error or combination of factors.

"The pilot mentioned that he was having difficulties and that he wanted to come back.He was allowed to turn around," the Ethiopian executive director told reporters. Airlines, Tewolde Gebre Mariam, in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia.

Weather conditions were good at the time of the flight.

The aircraft lost contact with air traffic control 6 minutes after takeoff and crashed near the town of Tulu Fara, outside the town of Bishoftu, about 60 kilometers away. southeast of Addis Ababa.

A farmer, identified as Sisay Gemechu, said he heard a loud noise while he was fetching water. "The plane seemed to want to land in a nearby open field, but it crashed before arriving there," he said. "The plane was on fire in the back shortly before the accident." The plane was running in an uncontrollable way. (…) The accident caused a huge explosion, "said a spokesman. another witness, Tegegn Dechasa.

The Boeing 737 took off Sunday at 8:38 (2:28 am from Argentina) from Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa. The pilot reported "difficulties" shortly after takeoff and asked to return to the airport, the airline's general manager told reporters.

"The pilot mentioned that he had difficulties and that he wanted to return," the controllers "allowed him" to turn around and go back to Addis Ababa, did he said at a press conference in the Ethiopian capital.

At Nairobi International Airport, the pbadengers' relatives were devastated. Peter Kimani went to the airport to look for his sister Florence Wangari, a nurse who "travels a lot". "We can only pray that he did not get on the plane." Khalid Ali Abdulrahman went to the airport to look for his son. He discovered that the plane had crashed. "I was shocked, but shortly after my son called me to tell me that he was still in Addis Ababa, that he was not come on the camera, "he said. Slovak MEP Anton Hrnko was among those who lost loved ones. "With great regret, I announce that my beloved wife, Blanka, my son Martin and my daughter Michala have died in the Addis Ababa air disaster this morning," he wrote. on Facebook.

Richard Aboulafia, an expert at Teal Group, an aerospace security agency, said it was "too early to make meaningful comments," another badyst said.

"It's the same plane." Like Lion Air, the crash (of Ethiopian Airlines) occurred shortly after takeoff and the pilots declared to have problems, then the plane s & # 39; The similarities are clear, "added the aerospace expert, who asked not to be identified, to be able to speak freely about the issue.

Michel Merluzeau, aviation specialist, however, said that "these are just similarities, and the comparison stops there because we have no other reliable information at the moment."

Since the crash of Lion Air, the 737 MAX has faced growing skepticism from the aerospace community. The program had already posed problems in its development.

In May 2017, Boeing terminated flight testing of the 737 MAX due to engine quality issues produced by CFM International, a joint venture between Safran Aircraft Engines (France) and GE Aviation.

The latest accident is a terrible blow for Boeing, whose MAX aircraft are the latest version of the 737, its best-selling aircraft of all time with more than 10,000 aircraft produced.