https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/despite-similarities-are-the-2-recent-737-max-8-crashes-a-coincidence/

Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed shortly after takeoff this week, killing all 157 people onboard and triggering a storm in the aviation industry. The aircraft was a Boeing 737 Max 8—the same type involved when Lion Air Flight 610 plummeted into the sea off Indonesia just five months earlier. Despite similarities between the events, aviation expert Peter Lemme believes they are unrelated.

Both flights seemed to have difficulties maintaining a normal climb, and fell mere minutes after takeoff. It is very rare for two new planes (the Max line, updated versions of the widely used 737 workhorse, only took to the skies in 2016) to experience fatal incidents within such a short time period.