U.S. to send teams to assist in Ethiopian Airlines crash

People walk past a part of the wreckage at the scene of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 plane crash, near the town of Bishoftu, southeast of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia March 10, 2019. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board will send four people to assist in the fatal Ethiopian Airlines crash, an NTSB spokesman said on Sunday.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is also monitoring developments concerning the crash, a statement said. "We are in contact with the State Department and plan to join the NTSB in its assistance with Ethiopian civil aviation authorities to investigate the crash," an FAA statement said.

An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 passenger jet to Nairobi crashed Sunday with 149 passengers and eight crew members aboard, the airline said earlier.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; writing by Susan Cornwell; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)