They reveal what the pilot of the plane said before crashing in Ethiopia

Shortly before the accident the flight pilot of Ethiopian Airlines who fell near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, reported difficulties and asked for permission to return after taking off. "I had received permission to return," said the president of the airline, Tewolde Gebremariam, at a press conference.

The plane that fell is a Boeing 737 from Ethiopian Airlines, which took off from Addis Ababa to Nairobi. He crashed in the morning six minutes after takeoff with 157 people on board, who died on the spot. Among the 149 pbadengers and eight crew members were two Spaniards, 32 Kenyans, 18 Canadians, 9 Ethiopians, 8 Italians, 8 Chinese, 8 Americans, 7 French, 7 British, 6 British, 6 Egyptian, 5 Dutch and 4 Indians.

Shortly after taking off from Bole International Airport in Adis Ababa, the pilot reported "difficulties" shortly after takeoff and asked to return to the airport. "The pilot stated that he was having difficulties and that he wanted to come back and that the controllers allowed him," said the airline's chief at a press conference . The plane was scheduled to land in Nairobi less than two hours later, a day when weather conditions were favorable. Finally, it crashed in the Bishoftu area, about 60 km south of the Ethiopian capital.

"Routine checks and maintenance They never revealed a problem. It was a new plane delivered in November 2018, "said the company's chief. In the registers of air traffic controllers, you will learn that the pilot reported that he had problems and that he wanted to come back. He had permission, "explained GebreMariam.

Prior to the airline CEO's conference, the company had confirmed the tragedy through its social networking accounts. "Ethiopian Airlines regrets to confirm that its flight ET302 / 10 March on the Addis Ababa-Nairobi line had an accident," said the airline in a first message. Hours later he reported that there were no survivors.

Ethiopian Airlines is fully controlled by the Ethiopian State and it has had a strong expansion in recent years. Its fleet is the largest on the African continent: it has more than 100 aircraft and the Boeing 737-800 MAX that crashed is a device that was delivered last year.

The aircraft builder, the American company Boeing, lamented the 157 dead and He offered technical badistance. "Boeing is deeply saddened by the death of pbadengers and flight crew Ethiopian Airlies 302, a 737 Max 8," the company said in a brief statement.

In addition to offering its condolences to the victims, Boeing has made available to the Ethiopian airline "a technical team" under the conditions provided by the US authorities. "A Boeing technical team is ready to provide technical badistance upon request and under the direction of the US National Transportation Safety Board," the statement said.

The latest serious accident of an Ethiopian Airlines airliner is that of a Boeing 737-800 that exploded shortly after taking off from Lebanon in 2010, killing 83 pbadengers and seven members of the plane. ;crew.