Pilot’s Last Moments Revealed in Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 Crash

On March 10, 2019, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 tragically crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa, resulting in the loss of all 157 people aboard. The brand-new Boeing 737 MAX 8 took off from runway 07R around 08:30 local time. Just over ten minutes later, it plummeted to the ground, marking a catastrophic event in aviation history.

The incident began with a distressing message from the first officer, who reported a “flight control problem.” As the aircraft ascended, issues with the fly-by-wire system became apparent, leading to a rapid loss of altitude. Captain Yared Getachew directed his co-pilot, First Officer Mohammed, to notify air traffic control of the emergency while attempting to stabilize the aircraft.

Recognizing the malfunction in the Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), which had previously been implicated in another fatal incident, Mohammed shouted, “Stab trim cut-out!” The pilots switched off the aircraft’s electrical trim tab system, which deactivated the MCAS software. Despite these efforts, a series of catastrophic failures overwhelmed the crew as they struggled to regain control.

As the situation worsened, three minutes into the flight, Captain Getachew requested permission from air traffic control to return to the airport. Data from flight tracking revealed a chaotic descent, with the aircraft’s nose pitching downward. Witnesses reported seeing “white smoke” and unusual sounds emanating from the plane as it descended.

A local farmer recalled seeing small objects that resembled paper falling from the aircraft. The final moments captured on the cockpit voice recorder included the urgent cry: “Pitch up, pitch up!” Tragically, the airliner crashed into a field approximately 30 miles from the airport at a speed nearing 500 mph. The impact was so severe that the plane became virtually buried in the ground, shattering into thousands of pieces.

In the aftermath of the crash, Tewolde Gebremariam, CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, described the scene as devastating. “When I went to the site, the plane was completely below ground,” he stated. “At that time, we knew there were no survivors.” This incident marked a significant moment in aviation safety, leading to extensive investigations and regulatory changes.

In April 2019, Boeing acknowledged that its MCAS software contributed to the crash, along with the earlier disaster of Lion Air Flight 610, which had resulted in 189 fatalities. Following these two incidents, the Boeing 737 MAX was grounded globally from March 2019 until December 2020, a period during which the company faced substantial financial repercussions. In January 2020, Boeing estimated a loss of $18.4 billion for the fiscal year, alongside 183 cancelled orders for the MAX.

The incident led to a second brief grounding of 737 MAX flights in January 2024. In its final accident report, the US National Transportation Safety Board partially attributed the crash to the flight crew’s actions, stating that “appropriate crew management of the event, per the procedures that existed at the time, would have allowed the crew to recover the airplane even when faced with the uncommanded nose-down inputs.”

This tragedy not only impacted the families of those lost but also raised critical questions about aircraft safety and regulatory oversight in the aviation industry. The legacy of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 continues to influence discussions on aviation safety protocols and the responsibilities of manufacturers and operators alike.