Update
11/03/19 – 12.30pm
Clare County Council has opened Books of Condolence for the late Michael Ryan of Lahinch, Co. Clare, at Áras Contae an Chláir in Ennis and at the West Clare Municipal District Office in Ennistymon.
Cllr. Michael Begley, Mayor of Clare, said, “On behalf of Clare County Council and the people of Clare, I wish to extend my deepest sympathies and condolences to Michael’s family and his wide circle of friends and former colleagues.”
“Michael was a valued member of the UN community for his work in humanitarian assistance for the World Food Programme. His work brought him all over the world and has benefited countless numbers of people down through the years. His loss to the local community in North Clare and to the United Nations is immeasurable. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam,” added the Mayor.
Members of the public are being invited to sign the Books of Condolence in Ennis and Ennistymon during opening hours (9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday).
- Irish victim of Ethiopian Airlines crash confirmed as being from Co Clare
- The jet involved in the tragedy, registration ET-AVJ, visited Dublin last November on delivery from Boeing to Ethiopian Airlines
- Books of Condolence open for the late Micheál Ryan.
https://www.facebook.com/WorldFoodProgramme/videos/10155239080130178/
The sole Irish passport holder on board a plane that crashed in Ethiopia on Sunday, has been confirmed as being from Co Clare.
Micheál ‘Mick’ Ryan from Attychristoria, Lahinch was one of the 157 people on board the Boeing 737-800 MAX jet that crashed shortly after leaving Addis Ababa in Ethiopia for Nairobi, Kenya.
Mr. Ryan, who had been living in Cork, was a married father-of-two who had working as an engineer with the United Nations World Food Programme.
The WFP family mourns today — @WFP staff were among those aboard the Ethiopian Airlines flight. We will do all that is humanly possible to help the families at this painful time. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
— David Beasley (@WFPChief) March 10, 2019
It has also emerged that the jet involved in the tragedy had visited Dublin last November on delivery from the Boeing factory in Seattle, Washington to Addis Ababa.
The Boeing 737-800 MAX, was operating as flight ET-302 from Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) to Nairobi (Kenya) when it crashed. There were 149 passengers and a crew of 8 on board.
Shortly after departure, the flight levelled off at around 9000 feet while radar contact was lost soon afterwards. The flight crashed into countryside about 30 kilometres southeast of Addis Ababa.
The aircraft departed Addis Ababa at 8:38am local time while radio and radar contact were lost about 6 minutes later. All persons on board died in the crash.
Boeing is aware of reports of an airplane accident and is closely monitoring the situation.
— Boeing Airplanes (@BoeingAirplanes) March 10, 2019
Aircraft manufacturer Boeing confirmed that a technical team would be travelling to the site to assist the Ethiopian Accident Investigation Bureau and the US’s National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) with the investigation.
Aircraft visited Dublin on delivery to the airline
The Boeing 737-800 Max aircraft involved in the tragedy was delivered to Ethiopian Airlines last November and passed through Dublin Airport on its way to Addis Ababa.
The brand new jet, operating as flight ET-9201, was being ferried from the Boeing production factory at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington to the Ethiopian city of Addis Ababa when it made a planned stop in Dublin to allow the crew rest before completing their journey.
The aircraft departed Boeing Field on November 15th and arrived in Dublin in the earlier hours of November 16th. The flight left Dublin later that night at around 9.30pm and arrived in Addis Ababa the following morning shortly after 5.00am Irish time.
The aircraft entered commercial service on November 17th 2018 operating as flight ET-612 to Dubai.
Clare Fine Gael senator Martin Conway said on Twitter: “Deeply saddened at news of the death of Michael Ryan from Lahinch one of the 157 on board the Ethiopian Airlines plane. Michael worked with the UN on the World Food Programme helping the most vulnerable people on our planet. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.”
Deeply saddened at news of the death of Michael Ryan from Lahinch one of the 157 on board the Ethiopian Airlines plane. Michael worked with the UN on the World Food Programme helping the most vulnerable people on our planet. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.
— Martin Conway (@conwayforclare) March 10, 2019