Ethiopian pilots band together one year after traumatic crash

Just hours after Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed southeast of Addis Ababa last March, mourners began flocking to a building down the road from where it took off: the headquarters of the country's independent pilots' association. On a normal day, the compound has the feel of a country club, with members playing tennis and basketball or lunching with their families on the restaurant's terrace. But as details of the tragedy trickled in, leaders organised an impromptu vigil in the main hall, placing photos of the flight's captain and crew on stands surrounded by candles and roses. It soon became a draw both for Ethiopian Airlines employees -- some of whom would drop in to cry for an hour on their lunch breaks -- and people who had no direct connection to the crash. "That week there was no parking in this compound. There were people coming from all over Addis," said Yeshiwas Fentahun, the president of the pilots' association at the time. "The fact that we had this set-up here was very important, not just for us but for everyone who was affected by the accident." Long after the crash of the Boeing 737 MAX ceased dominating headlines, the pilots' association continues to play a central role in the grieving process of its roughly 800 members. Over the past year, pilots have come to the compound for counselling, taken up collections for victims' families and even renamed the compound's football pitch for Yared Getachew, the captain of the doomed flight who was an avid player. It's the kind of support that members will lean on ahead of the anniversary of the crash on Tuesday, when faded memories are likely to seem fresh again, Yeshiwas said.<br/>