N E G A S H I - OJ

BEIRUT – An Ethiopian Airlines plane carrying 90 people crashed into the Mediterranean Sea in flames early Monday just minutes after takeoff from Beirut, authorities said.

Four bodies were recovered in the hours after the crash as ships searched through the choppy waters under gray skies and driving rain, a Lebanese military official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known. Lebanon has been slammed by stormy weather since Sunday night, with crackling thunder, lightning and pouring rain.

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman said terrorism was not suspected. “Sabotage is ruled out as of now,” he said. The Boeing 737-800 took off around 2:30 a.m. (7:30 p.m. EST) for the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, said Ghazi Aridi, the public works and transportation minister. “The weather undoubtedly was very bad,” Aridi told reporters at the airport. He added that the plane went down about 2 miles (3.5 kilometers) off the Lebanese coast.

The Lebanese army said in a statement the plane was “on fire shortly after takeoff.”

The wife of the French ambassador to Lebanon was on the plane, according to an embassy official who asked that his name not be used because of the sensitivity of the matter. Helicopters and naval ships were scrambled for a rescue effort in poor conditions. Huge waves lapped the shore as several ships plowed through the water.

Ethiopian Airlines released a statement on its Web site confirming the plane was missing. “A team is already working on gathering all pertinent information,” the statement said. “An investigative team has already been dispatched to the scene and we will release further information as further updates are received.” Calls to the airline were not immediately returned.

Relatives of the passengers began arriving at the airport early Monday, many of them crying and hugging. Officials led them into a VIP area. The plane was carrying 90 people, including 83 passengers and 7 crew. Aridi identified the passengers as 54 Lebanese, 22 Ethiopians, one Iraqi, one Syrian, one Canadian of Lebanese origin, one Russian of Lebanese origin, a French woman and two Britons of Lebanese origin.

Ethiopian Airlines reported that there were 82 passengers and eight crew; the discrepancy could not immediately be explained.

Ethiopian Airlines has long had a reputation for high-quality service compared to other African airlines, with two notable crashes in more than 20 years.

A hijacked Ethiopian Airlines jet crash-landed off the Comoros Islands in the Indian Ocean when it ran out of fuel in November 1996, killing 126 of the 175 people aboard. The plane had just left Addis Ababa when three hijackers stormed the cockpit and demanded to be taken to Australia. In September 1988, an Ethiopian Airlines jet crashed shortly after taking off when it ran into a flock of birds, killing 31 of the 104 people on board.

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 Fact Sheet of Ethiopian Airline

* Ethiopian Airlines [ETHA.UL] is a state-owned carrier and flies to 56 destinations, including 35 destinations in Africa — more than any other airline.

* Aviation experts say African airlines have a terrible safety record but Ethiopian Airlines has always been considered an exception with a solid history.

* None of the airline’s planes had crashed since 1996. That plane was hijacked en route to Nairobi from Addis Ababa. It ditched into the sea of the Comoros Islands when it ran out of fuel. Out of 175 passengers and crew on board, 123 were killed.

* The previous fatal crash was in 1988 when a domestic flight hit a flock of pigeons and crashed, killing 31 people.

* Ethiopian Airlines is an all-Boeing operator. It said in January it had ordered 10 Next-Generation 737-800s for $767 million, adding to the five 737-700s and two 737-800s it already operated. [ID:nN22228349]

* In 2009, the arline became the first African carrier to order and operate the ultra-long-range 777-200LR model. It was also the first African carrier to order the 787 Dreamliner, with 10 new planes ordered in 2005.

* The airline’s full-year net profit more than doubled to 1.3 billion Ethiopian birr ($128 million) in 2008/09 due to an aggressive international marketing campaign and cost-cutting.

* Chief Executive Officer Girma Wake told Reuters last week that if fuel prices did not rise, he expected net profit to increase to about $150 million net in 2009/10. [ID:nLDE60D11E]

* The airline said it hopes to boost profits this year by taking advantage of growing ties between Africa and China and India, adding new routes to those Asian countries.

* Ethiopian Airlines operates 14 flights a week to Beijing and Guangzhou and 12 flights a week to New Delhi and Mumbai. CEO Girma said the airline is planning to add flights to Shanghai in China and Chennai and Bangalore in India.

* Ethiopian Airlines is one of a trio of African carriers, along with South African Airways [SAA.UL] and Kenya Airways (KQNA.NR), spearheading change in Africa’s growing airline industry with modern planes and better safety records.

* Ethiopians are fiercely proud of being home to one of Africa’s only profitable airlines and there is fierce competition for jobs at the airline.

* Revenues and profits have consistently risen for Ethiopian Airlines despite competition from wealthy, Gulf-based carriers such as Emirates which are expanding in the region and drawing pilots away from Africa airlines.