"He said he had a flight control problem. That is why he wanted to climb," the source said, adding there were no further details given of the exact problem and the voice sounded nervous. HIGH SPEED, FAILED CLIMBThe Ethiopian flight was set to follow the Standard Instrument Departure (SID) from the airport and followed standard procedure with a first contact just after departure, the source said. Air traffic control granted him permission to turn on the right because to the left is the city," he said. Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 had data covering the first half of the flight but it dropped out at 8,600 feet.

Source: Ethiopian News March 16, 2019 19:41 UTC