Ethiopia's transport minister said on Sunday that flight recorder data indicated "clear similarities" exist between last week's Ethiopian Airlines plane crash and the downing of a Lion Air plane in October. Dagmawit Moges told reporters the parallels will be the "subject of further study during the investigation."
Both crashes involved the same model of plane — Boeing's 737 MAX 8 — and both pilots reported flight control issues, causing aviation authorities to ground the model around the world.
France's Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) is working with US and Ethiopian investigators to determine what brought down the plane.
Thousands of Ethiopians gathered at the capital's Holy Trinity Cathedral on Sunday for a funeral mass to honor the victims.
Read more: Ethiopians hold mass funeral for plane crash victims
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Europe's major plane crashes of the 21st century
European aviation disasters of the 21st century: Germanwings Airbus A320
A Germanwings Airbus A320 crashed into the French Alps on March 24, 2015 during a flight from Barcelona to Dusseldorf. All 144 passengers and six crew members were killed. A co-pilot with mental problems intentionally crashed the plane.
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Europe's major plane crashes of the 21st century
Malaysia Airlines flight MH17
Rebels in eastern Ukraine were accused of shooting down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 on July 17, 2014 during a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. All 298 people on board died, 193 of them Dutch. A Dutch investigation found pro-Russian rebels shot the plane down with a Buk surface-to-air missile launched from separatist territory in eastern Ukraine.
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Europe's major plane crashes of the 21st century
Polish President Lech Kaczynski killed
A Polish air force plane carrying President Lech Kaczynski crashed near the Russian airport of Smolensk on April 10, 2010. A Russian and Polish investigation found pilot error during landing in thick fog caused the crash that killed more than 90 people. Jaroslaw Kaczynski (pictured), the twin brother of Lech and leader of the ruling PiS, has suggested the crash was a political assassination.
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Europe's major plane crashes of the 21st century
Air France Flight 447
An Air France flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashed in the Atlantic on June 1, 2009, killing all 228 people on board. It took nearly two years for the black box (pictured) to be recovered from the bottom of the ocean. The investigation found a combination of technical and pilot error caused the crash.
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Europe's major plane crashes of the 21st century
Spanair Flight 5022
A Spanair MD-82 plane crashed after take-off from Madrid airport on August 20, 2008, killing 154 people. Amazingly, 18 people survived the crash and subsequent fire. The crash was caused by an improper flap and slat configuration and a failure of the pilots to follow a pre-flight checklist.
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Europe's major plane crashes of the 21st century
Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise Flight 612
A Russian passenger plane operated by Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise crashed near the eastern Ukraine city of Donetsk on August 22, 2006, killing all 170 people aboard. The plane was flying from St. Petersburg to the Black Sea resort of Anapa.
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Europe's major plane crashes of the 21st century
Helios Airways Flight 522
A Helios Airways flight from Cyprus crashed on August 14, 2005 near its destination Athens, killing all 121 on board. The crash was caused by a loss of cabin pressurization that immobilized the crew. The plane flew on autopilot until it ran out of fuel and crashed.
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Europe's major plane crashes of the 21st century
SAS Flight 686
On October 8, 2001 a Scandinavian Airlines MD-87 airliner collided with a small Cessna on take-off from Milan's Linate Airport. All 114 people on the SAS and Cessna aircraft were killed, as were four people on the ground. The accident happened in thick fog. The SAS plane crashed into a hangar.
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Europe's major plane crashes of the 21st century
Air France Concorde Flight
On July 25, 2000 a Air France Concorde flight from Paris to New York crashed two minutes after take-off, killing 109 people on board and four people on the ground. The crash was caused by the Concorde running over a piece of debris on the runway, which sent tire debris into part of the fuel tank that burst into flames.
Flight ET 302 came down near the town of Bishoftu, or Debre Zeit, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Addis Ababa, just minutes after taking off, killing all 157 people on board. People from 35 countries were on the flight.
The country's transport minister said detailed information based on flight data, along with a preliminary report into the crash, will be released within the month.
Read more: European agency bans Boeing 737 MAX 8 from airspace
kw/aw (AP, Reuters)
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