Tensions loom between US, Ethiopia in 737 Max crash probe

The Ethiopian Accident Investigation Bureau said Wednesday that it plans to release a final report on the fatal crash of the Boeing jet in the ‘near future’, but looming in the background is a disagreement over the report’s findings by authorities in the United States.

Tensions over how to characterize the findings of a probe into an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max crash two years ago have prompted U.S. investigators to consider taking the unusual step of issuing separate comments with their own conclusions, according to people familiar with the probe. The Ethiopian Accident Investigation Bureau said Wednesday it plans to release a final report on the fatal crash of the Boeing Co. jet in the “near future” after lockdowns to contain the Covid-19 pandemic hampered the investigation. The work is in the final stages, the Transport Ministry said in a statement on its Facebook page Wednesday, without giving a publication date. The update coincided with the two-year anniversary of the Ethiopian Airlines jet disaster outside Addis Ababa, which killed all 157 people on board.