Pilot error behind Ethiopian jet crash

Lebanese civil defence workers carrying parts from the Ethiopian airliner that crashed off Lebanon’s coast on 29 January 2010. Yesterday, a report into the deadly crash pointed to pilot error

Pilot error and inexperience were behind the 2010 crash of an Ethiopian airliner in Lebanon in which all 90 people on board died, according to a report issued yesterday by Lebanese authorities.
“What is clear is that there were errors on the part of the pilot and co-pilot who are entirely responsible for the plane crash,” Transport Minister Ghazi Aridi told AFP, referring to the January 25, 2010 crash.
According to the 191-page report, the inexperienced pilot had been overworked and was probably exhausted when the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-800 went down minutes after taking off from Beirut, killing 82 passengers and eight crew.
Data recovered from the plane’s black box indicate all instruments were working well on the jet until it plunged into the Mediterranean in what witnesses said was a “ball of fire”.