UN SUFFERS 'CATASTROPHE' IN PLANE CRASH

… as Boeing faces questions after crash

GENEVA - The United Nations has suffered one of its biggest losses in years in the deadly crash of an Ethiopian Airlines passenger jet bound for Nairobi, the head of the U.N. in Geneva said yesterday, without giving a new casualty figure.

Michael Moller, director-general of the U.N. European headquarters in Geneva, told a minute of silence, where some 150 personnel gathered: “It is one of the biggest catastrophes we have had in years.”

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), in a statement on Sunday night, gave a preliminary toll of 19 people from at least five U.N. and affiliated agencies, including the IOM, among 157 victims.

Meanwhile, the black box recovered from the Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed on Sunday is the cockpit voice recorder, Ethiopian state TV said yesterday.

Investigators at the crash site recovered the recorder, TV said. The BBC’s Emmanuel Igunza, at the scene, said there was a huge hole at the point of impact

US plane maker Boeing is facing questions after the Ethiopian Airlines 737 crash on Sunday

It was the second crash in five months involving a 737 Max 8, and comparisons are being drawn with a Lion Air accident in Indonesia last October.

In response, a number of airlines have now grounded all planes of the same model.

However, experts warn it is too early to say what caused the latest disaster.

Ethiopian Airlines says the plane, flight ET302, crashed at 08:44 local time, just six minutes after it left Addis Ababa. The aircraft, bound for Nairobi, came down near the town of Bishoftu, 60km southeast of the capital.

The pilot had reported difficulties and had asked to return to Addis Ababa, the airline said.

The 737 Max-8 aircraft has only been in commercial use since 2017.

The plane that crashed was among six of 30 that Ethiopian Airlines had ordered as part of its expansion. It underwent a “rigorous first check maintenance” on February 4, the airline tweeted.

Boeing said it was “deeply saddened” by the crash and is sending a team to provide technical assistance.

Meanwhile, a Greek man has said that he was due to board the flight but arrived at the gate two minutes late.

In a Facebook post, Antonis Mavropoulos shared an image of his ticket and said it was his “lucky day.”

“I was angry because nobody helped me to reach the gate on time,” he wrote. “I’m grateful to be alive.”

In Ethiopia, yesterday was declared as a national day of mourning.