The two black boxes from the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 that crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 157 people aboard, arrived Thursday morning in Paris, where they will be analyzed for clues into what doomed the new jetliner.
The cockpit voice and flight data recorders were expected to be handed over to France’s BEA air accident investigation agency later in the day, France 24 reported.
An Ethiopian delegation led by its accident investigation bureau had flown the recorders to the French capital to seek the expertise of the BEA, which also handles investigations of crashes involving Airbus aircraft, according to the airlines.
Investigators hope the black boxes, at least one of which was damaged in the crash, will provide critical data into what caused the MAX 8 to plummet to the ground about six minutes after taking off from Addis Ababa en route to Nairobi, Kenya.
Following the lead of other countries and global aviation regulators in the aftermath of the second crash involving a MAX 8 in less than five months, the US Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday ordered all MAX planes grounded.
Boeing, which maintained that its planes were safe to fly, said in a statement that it supported the FAA move.
“Boeing has determined — out of an abundance of caution and in order to reassure the flying public of the aircraft’s safety — to recommend to the FAA the temporary suspension of operations of the entire global fleet of 371 737 MAX aircraft.”
The move followed President Trump’s decision to issue an emergency order to ground all MAX 8 and MAX 9 jets.
Meanwhile, Russia’s aviation authority on Thursday suspended flights by the 737 MAX planes in the country’s airspace, according to the Interfax news agency.
Earlier this week, Russia’s S7 Airlines said it would ground its MAX 8 planes starting Wednesday.
Japan took the same action Thursday, ordering overseas carriers not to fly the medium-haul jets to any airports in the country.
“The ban won’t be lifted until we can confirm its safety,” a land and transport ministry official told AFP.
No Japanese airline possesses the MAX planes, but the country’s All Nippon Airways plans to buy 30 units of the aircraft.
In other developments Thursday, relatives of the dead stormed out of a meeting with Ethiopian Airlines, accusing it of a lack of transparency.
“I’m so angry,” said Yemeni citizen Abdulmajid Shariff, 38, who lost a brother-in-law, according to Reuters.
“They called us to give us a report on bodies and the reasons for the crash but there was no information.”
Riyadh resident Sultan Al-Mutairi, whose brother was among the dead, told Reuters: “We did not get any answers (at the meeting).”
Adding to the families’ anguish, there are only scattered and charred remains, meaning it could take weeks or months to identify them through dental or DNA analysis.
Ethiopian relatives wore traditional white mourning shawls, some hugging each other, as they gathered in a hotel before boarding buses Thursday.