Boeing 737

Criticisms of the crew's actions were "seriously misinformed" Tewolde GebreMariam told the BBC.

He was responding to claims from a US congressman that mistakes by the pilots were a factor in the aircraft's failure.

The Boeing 737 Max went down just six minutes after take-off in Addis Ababa.

The loss of Ethiopian flight ET302 was the second fatal accident involving a 737 Max in the space of five months. A near identical aircraft, owned by the Indonesian carrier Lion Air, went down in the sea off Jakarta in October 2018.

The airline also confirmed that the United States Divers have completed an inspection inside the aircraft which landed short of Chuuk International Airport.

Air Niugini in a statement said the US divers have confirmed that all the passengers were safely evacuated from the aircraft.

This has been also confirmed by other passengers that the unaccounted person had been safely evacuated from the aircraft and was seen in one of the local dinghies that were assisting with transporting the passengers and crew to the shore.