The Air Crash Victims’ Families’ Federation International, a worldwide organization formed by air accident victims associations from several countries, would like to express our pain and dismay for the loss of 157 lives in the disaster of Flight 302 of Ethiopian Airlines. The motivation for the delay of this press communication is the emotion feeling by a person who suffers a tragedy when another catastrophe happens.
On the other hand, it places value on the work done since 2009 in ICAO and other international organizations, relative to family assistance, passenger rights, accident prevention, and investigation, air safety, etc. This hard effort has not been in vain because the assistance of the victims’ families of this new tragedy has based on Doc 9998 and Doc 9973, as we are aware.
Regarding the unprecedented decision of EASA, from the European Union, about the Boeing 737 Max 8 cannot fly on European sky, taken after most parts of European States had decided the same and after the loss of 346 lives in five months. ACVFFI thinks that it is the confirmation of the natural thinking way should be imposed on economic and commercial benefits in worldwide aviation. There is no more to do when the first safety barrier is broken, meaning the airplane manufacturer. Neither, when the safety recommendations are not followed expeditiously, waiting for the death of innocents obliges to act and remedy this unjustifiable situation.
ACVFFI addressed Ethiopian Airlines CEO in order to be at the disposal of victims’ relatives, as we did every air disaster through the airline’s executives and State Representative in ICAO.