A preliminary report has shown that the Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed last month nosedived several times before it hit the ground.
The Pilots “repeatedly” followed procedures recommended by Boeing before the crash, according to the first official report into the disaster.
Despite their efforts, pilots “were not able to control the aircraft”, Transport Minister Dagmawit Moges said.
Flight ET302 crashed after take-off from Addis Ababa, killing 157 people.
It was the second crash of a Boeing 737 Max aircraft in five months.
Last October, Lion Air flight JT 610 crashed into the sea near Indonesia killing all 189 people on board.
In a news conference in Addis Ababa, Ms Dagmawit said: “The crew performed all the procedures repeatedly [that were] provided by the manufacturer but were not able to control the aircraft.”
Her comments were based on a preliminary report into the crash, which has not been published yet, but could be released by the end of the week.
The 737 Max family of aircraft was grounded following the Ethiopian Airlines crash, a move affecting more than 300 planes.