The mother of the 29-year-old pilot who was at the helm of the ill-fated Ethiopian airplane has finally opened up about his son's last message to her.
The mother, Dr Rayan Shapi, revealed that she last spoke to the pilot, Yared Getachew, right before he started the journey that claimed the lives of 157 people.
‘‘I am coming to Nairobi. I have forgotten my phone, but we will talk once I get there,” disclosed Shapi as the last she heard from her son.
While holding prayers for the young pilot whose demise was untimely, his family described him as possessing a ferocious ambition.
He had worked in the aviation industry for more than 10 years and climbed through the corporate ladder since his years as a cadet to sit among the senior captains.
“Yared’s brilliance and huge ambitions was clearly shown by the fact that at 29, he had already grown to the rank of senior captain.” stated his cousin Zainab Daham.
At the time of their communication, the family revealed that they were not alarmed especially since he had flew planes many times before and even racked up 8,000 hours of flying time.
“Yared has been an excellent pilot. For the time that he has been working with the Ethiopian Airlines he has never been involved in any mishap," revealed the pilot's uncle Khalid Shapi.
Yared was half Kenyan and half Ethiopian born to Getachew Tessema who was an Ethiopian and mother Shapi.