Family await report on air crash after year of waiting

The father of a Keighley man killed when an Ethiopian Airlines jet crashed into the Mediterranean Sea a year ago has said he hopes the publication of a report into the accident today will help him understand what went wrong.

The Lebanese transport minister is due to release an interim report on the crash in which flight ET409 from Beirut to Addis Ababa plunged into the sea.

Two Britons, Kevin Grainger, 54, a musician from Keighley, and Afif Krisht, 55, who had dual British-Lebanese nationality and split his time between Lebanon and Plymouth, were among the 90 people on board.

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Mr Grainger's father, Ivan, said: "Kevin was a well loved son who can never be replaced. We are all desperately keen to understand exactly what went wrong and what if any lessons can be learned to avoid a similar tragedy for others in the future."

Law firm Irwin Mitchell, representing Mr Grainger's family, said relatives had endured a year of speculation and rumour.

Jim Morris, a former RAF pilot and a partner in the firm's aviation law team, said: "It has been a long wait for answers, but it finally appears that the much-anticipated report into this terrible crash is set to be published."