Ethiopian Airlines Crashes into Sea After Take Off From Beirut, French Ambassador's Wife Marla Sanchez Pietton was On-Board

An Ethiopian Airlines flight from Beirut, Lebanon to Addis Ababa crashes into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after take-off. French ambassador's wife Marla Sanchez Pietton was on-board the plane.

Ethiopian Airlines (airlinersgallery.wordpress.com/.../)

BREAKING: An Ethiopian Airlines plane crashes into the Mediterranean Sea after taking off from Beirut, Lebanon early Monday morning. All 90 passengers and crew feared dead. According to Reuters, the aircraft disappeared from radar screens shortly after take-off. The flight from Beirut was bound for Addis Ababa. The plane is a Boeing 737 aircraft.

About 51 passengers were reportedly Lebanese nationals, 23 were Ethiopians, two Britons and citizens from Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Canada, Russia and France, Ethiopian Airlines said. The French ambassador to Lebanon, Denis Pietton's wife Marla Sanchez Pietton was on-board the flight.

According to state-run Lebanese National News Agency, by midday Monday, crews had recovered 23 bodies, but found no survivors. The plane reportedly crashed about 2.1 miles west of Na'ameh, which is nine miles south of Beirut.

UPDATE#1: The pilot flew in the opposite direction from the path recommended by the control tower after taking off from Beirut in thunderstorms, Lebanon's transportation minister said Tuesday.

Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi said the pilot initially followed the tower's guidance, but then abruptly changed course and went in the opposite direction.(NY Daily News)