Why Ethopia sent black boxes from fatal air crash to France

The flight data recorder from the doomed Ethiopian Airlines flight is severely twisted and scratched as investigators begin their analysis.

French air crash investigators have revealed a severely damaged black box from the doomed Ethiopian Airlines crash.

As analysis of the air tragedy gets underway in Paris, the French air accident investigation authority, known by its French acronym BEA, shared an image of the mangled flight data recorder.

⚠️ Accident survenu le 03/10 du #Boeing737Max @BoeingAirplanes ET-AVJ exploité par @flyethiopian / Première photo du FDR fournie par l’équipe d’enquête éthiopienne. pic.twitter.com/z0ZRtM5yjT

— BEA | Bureau d'Enquêtes & d'Analyses ✈️ 🚁🛩 🇫🇷 (@BEA_Aero) March 14, 2019

The BEA is now handling the analysis of the flight recorders from the Boeing jet that crashed after takeoff earlier this week, killing 157 people.

Ethiopian authorities wanted European investigators to handle the analysis because of its complexity, according to BEA spokesman Sebastien Barthe. They initially asked Germany, which said it didn’t have the necessary capacity to take it on, so then the Ethiopians turned to France, Barthe told The Associated Press.

And the BEA said yes.

The scene where the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed shortly after takeoff killing all 157 on board, near Bishoftu, southeast of Addis Ababa, in Ethiopia. Pic: AP

The French agency, based in the Paris suburb of Le Bourget, has extensive experience in investigating crashes and other incidents involving commercial flights. The BEA notably helps with investigations in countries without the resources or equipment to analyse the flight recorders, often called the black boxes.

A flight recorder at the laboratory at the headquarters of the Office of Investigation and Analysis (Bureau d'Enquete et d'Analyses — BEA), Le Bourget, north of Paris. Pic: AFP

BEA investigators are also often called upon when an Airbus plane has a problem anywhere in the world, because the aviation manufacturer is based in France. This time the plane was a Boeing, whose popular 737 Max 8 model has been grounded or barred from air space in more than 40 countries pending investigation into what caused Sunday’s crash.

The National Transportation Safety Board in the US, where Boeing is based, said it will send three investigators to France to help download and analyse the flight recorders. NTSB investigators have also been sent to Ethiopia to help with the investigation.

A worker stands near a Boeing 737 MAX 8 airplane parked at Boeing Co.'s Renton Assembly Plant in Renton, Washington on March 11. Picture: AP

The BEA isn’t saying how long it will take to analyse the recorders — which are actually orange, despite their nickname. One collects data such as the plane’s altitude and airspeed, while the other records the sounds in the cockpit. Analysis typically takes days or weeks, depending on whether the recorders were damaged in the crash.

The French agency insists that its investigations are not aimed at assigning blame but at finding out what went wrong to make recommendations to improve air safety around the world.

Mourners, believed to be family members of a victim on-board the aircraft, visit the crash site of Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302 on March 14, 2019 in Ejere, Ethiopia. Picture: Getty

Among major crash investigations the BEA has led were the 2015 plunge of a Germanwings jet — whose black boxes revealed that the co-pilot had deliberately slammed the plane into an Alpine mountainside after locking the captain out of the cockpit.

The BEA also studied the flight recorders retrieved from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean two years after the 2009 crash of Rio-Paris Air France Flight 447. The investigation determined its speed sensors had iced over, causing confusion in the cockpit.