Ethiopia claims Lebanon has tainted ET409 inquiry

Ethiopian Airlines CEO Girma Wake (AP Photo/Samson Haileyesus)Ethiopian Airlines CEO Girma Wake has issued a scathing list of grievances against the Republic of Lebanon over the ET409 crash inquiry, as reported on Saturday, February 27, by Kaleyesus Bekele in the Ethiopian newspaper, The Reporter.

Charges against Lebanon include (1) denied access to the families of the Lebanese passengers who perished when ET409, a Boeing 737-800, crashed some 4 minutes after taking off from Beirut (BEY) last January 25; (2) denied examination of the recovered remains; (3) discrepancy in the number of bodies reported as initially recovered, 25 compared with the 14 that were actually available at the Beirut morgue; (4) denied access examining the recovered CVR; (5) accusations that the CVR had been tampered with and partially erased; (6) inadequate responses to questions posed to Lebanese officials; (7) denied access to the crash site to make first hand observations; (8) denied access to a transcript of an interview with a Lebanese army officer who swore that he observed the aircraft explode while aloft, and failure to produce that witness; (9) leaking of false and misleading information; (10) breaking an agreement to preserve confidentiality; and (11) obstructing the investigation and keeping the Ethiopian 13-member delegation composed of senior pilots, medical personnel and other professionals from full participation in the investigation process.

CAPTIONS: (ABOVE LEFT) Ethiopian Airlines CEO Girma Wake (AP Photo/Samson Haileyesus); (BELOW RIGHT) Lebanon's Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi shows photographs from the wreckage of ET409 (AP Photo/Mahmoud Tawil); (BELOW LEFT) A cousin of Ethiopian Airlines plane crash victims Fuad and Abbas Jaber release balloons as she mourns on the beach in Khalde, south of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Jan. 29, 2010 (AP Photo/Hussein Malla); (BELOW RIGHT LOWER) Question Mark (Wikipedia/Common Usage/Public Domain)

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These are not minor annoyances or petty grievances. Both countries have apparently received a preliminary report from BEA, an agency of the French government that is analyzing the available data in its laboratories near Paris, and conducting field interviews. As Mr. Wake stated, "If someone uses political power to alter the theme of the report then we will discuss this."

A cousin of Ethiopian Airlines plane crash victims Fuad and Abbas Jaber release balloons as she mourns on the beach in Khalde, south of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Jan. 29, 2010 (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) Mr. Wake's language would make any diplomat grimace, because it is blunt and unfiltered. He went on to say at a press conference last Wednesday in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, "It is not in line with what our two countries have signed for. Are we out for a big war? I hope the investigators will put some sense into the investigation and come out with a proper working system, thereby avoiding a war between nations, between authorities. I'm hoping that may not be necessary, but we are not ready to accept a conclusion made without a proper analysis."

Anyone who speaks of war, whether figuratively or not, is throwing down the gauntlet. It is obvious to this observer and others, that Mr. Wake has been pushed to his limits, and is expressing extreme frustration and betrayal.

As the CEO pointed out, "A lot of war has been going on in Lebanon, the whole area has been full of political turmoil; divisions within countries in the region. Because of that people can take their own wild guesses. The very fact it happened at Beirut airport at time when it is politically sensitive, does gives people to put their own thinking into it." What he was implying was sabotage, or some other terrorist act.

From the very start, Lebanon has ruled out terrorism. They first blamed violent thunderstorms, lightning, wind shear, and micro bursts, then implied that the incident was caused either by technical failure or human error.

For any outside observer, who is accustomed to following an accident investigation with daily briefings, photographs and displays of the evidence, independent technical analysis, media access, consistent statements, and above all transparency, the process within Lebanon is highly irregular, and potentially alarming.

Answers to simple questions would go far in clearing up ambiguities. These include: What was theQuestion Mark (Wikipedia/Common Usage/Public Domain) original departure clearance granted to ET409? Were there other aircraft, as we have uncovered, in the area? Why was ET409 allegedly given instructions to change course? Had it already been granted clearance to return to Beirut? Was Captain Habtamu Benti Negasa the Pilot in Command (PIC) at takeoff? If he was not flying the aircraft, at the first indication of a problem, did he issue the command "My Aircraft" to First Officer Alula Tamerat? Did Mr. Tamerat reply, "Your Aircraft, Captain", and hand off control. Were intelligence satellite surveillance operating in the area sending classified data to a third country that would have picked up anomalies, such as the highly classified and secretive National Security Administration? Why were there long delays between locating and retrieving both data recorders? Who had access to these recorders once recovered, and what was the chain of custody? Were there indications of burns or traces of nitrates on the bodies of the passengers? Did recovered pieces of the aircraft show an implosion, charring, or deformation not consistent with water impact?

Any investigative authority would ask these questions, and others. Eventually, they will have to be addressed, incorporated into findings, or eliminated as having no cause for this incident. Our coverage will continue as additional information becomes known.