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Uncovering the mystery: What was the "fireball" seen by witnesses?
On January 25, 2010, EgyptAir Flight 409 crashed into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after taking off from Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, killing all 90 passengers on board. The incident shocked the international community because it was Ethiopian Airlines' first fatal air crash since the hijacking of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 in 1996.
Event background
Flight information
The aircraft involved in the accident was a Boeing 737-8AS, registration number ET-ANB. The aircraft first flew in 2002 and was delivered to Ryanair in the same year. It was later delivered to Ethiopian Airlines in September 2009. At the time of the accident, the aircraft was eight years old. The most recent maintenance inspection was in December 2009, and no technical problems were found.
Crew crew
The captain of this flight was 44-year-old Habtamu Benti Negesa, who had more than 10,000 hours of flying experience. The co-pilot is 23-year-old Aruna Tamerat Beyene, who has less experience and only has 673 hours of flying time.
The incident
The flight took off from Lebanon in poor weather conditions. The aircraft encountered turbulence soon after takeoff and lost control after climbing to 9,000 feet. Before the accident, several witnesses reported seeing sparks coming from the plane before it crashed into the sea. Local meteorological data showed wind speeds of 8 knots and storm clouds surrounding the airport.
Witnesses described seeing an "orange light spot" or "a fireball," which were consistent with the time and location of the accident.
Search and rescue operation
After the accident, the Lebanese authorities immediately launched a search and rescue operation and found the wreckage the next day. In the days that followed, the Lebanese military and other international aid agencies, including troops from the United States and France, joined in the search and rescue effort. In the end, the remains of all the victims were successfully recovered before February 23 and sent to the hospital for DNA identification.
Accident Investigation
A rigorous investigation was launched in 2010 and involved international agencies including the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and the French Civil Aviation Safety Investigation Agency. The investigation report showed that the pilot failed to properly manage the speed and altitude of the aircraft during flight, which ultimately resulted in loss of control.
The final report of the accident investigation stated: "The flight team failed to comply with CRM (crew resource management) principles, which exacerbated the situation of loss of control."
Rebuttal to the report
Ethiopian Airlines expressed strong opposition to the investigation report, believing that the report was biased, lacked evidence, and did not fully present the true circumstances of the accident. The airline further mentioned that flight data and voice records at the time of the accident indicated that the aircraft may have disintegrated in the air, which means there may have been an explosion or other factors.
Influence on the public
The incident received widespread media attention and was recreated in subsequent documentaries. This incident reminds all air operators to pay more attention to driver fatigue and mental health issues and strengthen flight safety regulations.
Finally, this tragedy provides the necessary impetus for global aviation safety enforcement of new regulations.
The crash left many unanswered questions: Was the "fireball" seen by witnesses an ordinary aviation accident or a symbol of a deeper problem? Think about it, are there any other facts that we might not know?
