Hours after it emerged that the pilot of Ethiopian Airline Boeing 737 MAX 8, Yared Getachew was not qualified, the plane operator has released a statement dismissing this.
According to the airline, the claims are baseless and malicious.
The management of the airline noted that a publication on the New Times was poorly researched.
The team warned media houses against spreading rumours pending investigations into the crash that killed all the 157 passengers who were on board during the incident.
“Ethiopian Airlines expresses its disappointment on the following wrong reporting of the @nytimes titled “Ethiopian Airlines Had a Max 8 Simulator, but Pilot on Doomed Flight Didn’t Receive Training,” said the airline through its Twitter account.
The management also clarified that all the pilots undertake complete training before they are allowed to fly the planes.
“Ethiopian Airlines pilots completed the Boeing recommended and FAA approved differences training from the B-737 NG aircraft to the B-737 MAX aircraft before the phase-in of the B-737-8 MAX fleet to the Ethiopian operation and before they start flying the B-737-8 MAX,” the airline said in another statement.
China, Ethiopia, and the US opted to ground the operations of Boeing 737 MAX 8 after safety concerns were issued.