First Lion Air, now Ethiopian Airlines: What caused the Boeing 787 MAX 8 plane to plummet, killing 157 passengers? Tewolde GebreMariam said the last communication to captain Yared Getachew was relayed at 8.44am, local time, the minute the Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashed in a field just six minutes after leaving the airport in Addis Ababa. MAX 8 GROUNDING CAUSES MID-AIR CHAOSIt comes as planes bound for the United Kingdom were forced to turn back mid-flight after the country banned all Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft from flying in or out of its airspace. Ireland matched the UK’s decision, and the European Aviation Safety Agency issued a directive grounding all Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 model aircraft. Airlines in China and Indonesia, Aeromexico, Brazil’s Gol Airlines, India’s Jet Airways and others also have temporarily grounded their 737 Max 8s.

Source: Ethiopian News March 12, 2019 15:41 UTC