The pilot of the aircraft which crashed off the coast of Lebanon failed to follow instructions to avoid a severe storm, according to the country's defence minister. Skip related content
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Enlarge photo .Ninety passengers, including two British passport holders, were on board the Ethiopian Airlines jet, when it came down shortly after leaving the capital Beirut on Monday morning.
Rescuers have found at least 14 bodies but no survivors in a large search operation after the plane plunged flaming into the Mediterranean Sea.
Defence minister Elias Murr said the plane failed to follow instructions from Beirut air traffic controllers, for reasons that were not immediately clear.
"A command tower recording shows the tower told the pilot to turn to avoid the storm, but the plane went in the opposite direction," he said.
"We do not know what happened or whether it was beyond the pilot's control."
Flight 409 lost contact with Beirut airport shortly after takeoff at 02:37am (0037 GMT).
Officials have ruled out foul play. They have also played down hopes of anyone being found alive.
Luggage and debris from the Boeing 737, which had been bound for the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, washed up south of Beirut during the day.
Empty seats, gift-wrapped children's toys and the plane's coffee machine were found near the airport.
Afif Krisht, who had dual British-Lebanese nationality, was one of the passengers, according to sources.
The 55-year-old businessman was a father of six who split his time between Lebanon and Plymouth, Devon, where three children from his first marriage to a British woman live, reports said.
