Ethiopian Airlines will resume a passenger flight on Tuesday with a Boeing 737 MAX, the first since the March 2019 crash that killed 157 people. That accident also led to a worldwide flight ban for the aircraft type for months.
Ethiopian Airlines flight 302, bound for Kenya, crashed into a field near the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa in March 2019, six minutes after takeoff. The crash led to the worst crisis in the history of the American aircraft manufacturer Boeing. A few months earlier, a 737 MAX had crashed in Indonesia, operated by Lion Air. 189 were killed as a result.
After the second accident, the 737 MAX was grounded worldwide. The two crashes turned out to be caused by a failing safety system that pushed the noses of the planes down. Boeing worked out a solution via a software update. In many places, including the United States and Europe, the plane is now allowed to fly again.
Ethiopian Airlines has long said it would be the last airline to return the plane to service. However, the airline now says the decision to return to flying the 737 MAX comes after a “deep recertification” by regulators in the United States, the European Union, China and Ethiopia.