2019 — Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302

On March 10, 2019, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 bound for Nairobi, crashed six minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa, killing all one hundred and fifty-seven people aboard. A morning departure from the capital ended in minutes, in one of the darkest days in African aviation.

Investigators found a faulty sensor had triggered the MCAS software, which repeatedly forced the plane's nose down while the crew fought to pull up. Within days, regulators worldwide grounded the entire 737 MAX fleet for nearly two years. A single flight's loss in Ethiopia changed the safety of the skies everywhere.