During time of rapid growth, sorrow for Ethiopian Airlines

Ben Bradford Mar 11, 2019
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Two local boys examine a pile of twisted metal gathered by workers during the continuing recovery efforts at the crash site of Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302 on March 11, 2019 in Bishoftu, Ethiopia. Jemal Countess/Getty Images

During time of rapid growth, sorrow for Ethiopian Airlines

Ben Bradford Mar 11, 2019
Two local boys examine a pile of twisted metal gathered by workers during the continuing recovery efforts at the crash site of Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302 on March 11, 2019 in Bishoftu, Ethiopia. Jemal Countess/Getty Images
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Sunday’s tragic crash of ET302 comes just as Ethiopian Airlines has been riding a wave of international investment, expansion and optimism. Over the last decade, the airline made a big push to build its fleet and increase routes, both within Africa and beyond the continent. A recent expansion of Ethiopia’s international airport opened in January in Addis Ababa, making the capital the largest international aviation hub in Africa. The doomed plane was headed from the Ethiopian capital to Nairobi, Kenya, when it crashed six minutes after takeoff. All 157 people aboard were killed. The cause of the crash is under investigation, but there are safety questions related to the Boeing 737 Max 8 involved. What does this crash mean for the 74-year-old airline, which has grounded all of the Boeing 737 Max 8 planes in its fleet?

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