Smoke and debris poured from Ethiopian Airlines’ Boeing 737, scattering cattle as it plunged to its doom, witnesses say
- Witnesses described a ‘loud rattling sound’ coming from the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 as it fell from the skies
- The plane’s black box flight recorders have been recovered from the crash site
The Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed killing 157 people was making a strange rattling noise and trailed smoke and debris as it swerved above a field of panicked cows before hitting earth, according to witnesses.
Flight 302 took off from the Ethiopian capital on Sunday morning bound for Nairobi with passengers from more than 30 countries. All on board the Boeing 737 MAX 8 died.
Authorities in Ethiopia, China and Indonesia grounded all Boeing 737 MAX 8s on Monday, and investigators found the flight recorders in the field where the plane went down. An airline official, however, said one of the recorders was partially damaged and “we will see what we can retrieve from it.”
The pilot had requested permission to return, saying he was having problems – but it was too late.
Half a dozen witnesses interviewed in the farmland where the plane came down reported smoke billowing out behind, while four of them also described a loud sound.
