Investigators discovered that the pilot of the Ethiopian airliner did not respond to a request to change direction before the plane crashed. But it was too soon to conclude that the pilot caused the accident, the Lebanese transport minister said on Tuesday. 

[Tareq Mitri, Lebanese Information Minister]:

''So far we have not found the black box, but the search has developed. We are using sophisticated methods and we believe we are getting closer…''

The Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-800 plane was flying during a thunderstorm before it crashed off the Lebanese coast on early Monday morning. 90 people were on board, all of whom are feared dead. Most of them were Lebanese and Ethiopian passengers, headed to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

Lebanese officials said 14 bodies, including those of two toddlers, had been recovered so far. The body parts of another victim were also retrieved.

Lebanese and international search teams, including an American naval vessel, European and U.N. peacekeeping ships, helicopters, planes and divers scoured the Mediterranean coast for the victims and missing flight recorders or black boxes. Sonar equipment on navy vessels was being used to detect the wreckage. 

The last fatal incident involving Ethiopian Airlines was in November 1996 when a hijacked Boeing 767 crashed off the Comoros Islands, killing 125 of the 175 passengers and crew.