Irish aid worker among 157 dead in plane crash horror
A FATHER of two from Clare was among 157 people killed when an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed shortly after take-off.
Michael Ryan, an aid worker on the United Nations World Food Programme, was among the 149 passengers and eight crew members who were killed yesterday.
The Boeing 737-8 MAX plane crashed just after take-off from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.
Recordings recovered from the plane show that its speed changed dramatically as the pilot desperately tried to steer it back to the airport.
It crashed just six minutes after leaving the airport.
An eyewitness told the BBC there was an intense fire when the plane crashed.
‘The blast and the fire were so strong that we couldn’t get near it,’ he said. ‘Everything is burnt down. There are four helicopters at the scene now.’
The WFP last night said Mr Ryan, who was based at the organisation’s headquarters in Rome, was one of a group of WFP staff on board flight ET302 which was bound for Nairobi, Kenya.
Mr Ryan is originally from Lahinch,
‘The fire was so strong we couldn’t get near it’
Co. Clare, and had been living in Cork with his wife and family.
The tragedy happened just weeks before his wife and their two children were due to emigrate to Italy to live with him.
He had recently appeared on a video promoting the work of the WFP and had previously worked for the programme in Asia.
Mr Ryan had assisted food relief efforts in Bangladesh after floods devastated the country.
A WFP spokesman said: ‘I can very, very sadly confirm that Michael Ryan worked for WFP and was based at our headquarters in Rome and was among those killed on [flight] ET 302.
‘All of WFP’s thoughts and condolences are with the families of all those killed.
‘There are a number of WFP staff who were aboard ET 302. We are making sure everyone is informed before we can make all their names public.’
Mr Ryan is survived by his siblings, Cristin, Siobhán and Tiernan.
The Lahinch parish released a statement in which it said: ‘We pray for all who have died so unexpectedly in this tragedy, their families, colleagues and friends.
‘We pray for all working at the accident site at this present moment. We hope that God will bless everyone in this tragedy for so many people.’
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar paid tribute last night, saying: ‘Our thoughts tonight are with families of all those lost in the Ethiopian Airlines crash, including Irish engineer Michael Ryan. Michael was doing life-changing work in Africa with the World Food Programme. Deepest sympathies to family, colleagues and friends.’
Mr Ryan and other WFP workers were flying to Nairobi for an aid conference when tragedy struck.
The plane was a Boeing 737, which had only been operating since October.
The flight took off from Bole airport in Addis Ababa at 8.38am and lost contract with air traffic controllers at 8.44am, after several messages from the pilot seeking to return to the airport.
Controllers had granted him permission to return to the airport shortly before the crash.
The Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation reported yesterday: ‘There are no survivors on board the flight, which carried passengers from 33 countries.’
The airline confirmed the victims were of 35 nationalities, including one Irish person. Ethiopian Airlines told media there were no survivors.
Airline chief executive Tewolde Gebremariam said: ‘Today is a very sad and tragic day for all of us at Ethiopian Airlines and for our passengers. While it was in flight at around 8.44[am], it had difficulties and was lost from the radar. It disappeared.’
Visibility was clear but air traffic monitor Flightradar24 said: ‘Vertical speed was unstable after take-off.’
The pilot had sent out a distress call and was given the all-clear to return, according to Mr Gebremariam. Senior captain Yared Getachew had a ‘commendable performance’, having completed more than 8,000 hours in the air, the airline said.
Mr Gebremariam travelled to the scene of the crash where he was pictured leafing through what little was left of the wreckage.
Those on board the tragic flight included 32 Kenyans, 18 Canadians, nine Ethiopians and seven UK citizens.
Plane-maker Boeing said: ‘We... stand ready to support the Ethiopian Airlines team.’