The aircraft was the same type of jet as the Indonesian Lion Air plane that crashed in October, killing 189 passengers and crew. The company said it was sending a technical team to the crash site and will work with Ethiopian and US regulators to determine the cause. There were eight Chinese nationals among the 149 passengers and eight crew on the Ethiopia flight. Inhabitants of the remote area looked on from behind a security cordon as inspectors searched the crash site and excavated it with a mechanical digger. Ethiopian Airlines said the pilot was given clearance to turn around after indicating problems shortly before the plane disappeared from radar.

Source: Standard Digital March 11, 2019 22:30 UTC