Joanna Toole (pictured) has been named as one of the British victims of the air disaster in Ethiopia
The father of a UN animal welfare worker who died in the Ethiopian air disaster has described her as a 'very soft and loving person' and said: 'It's hard to imagine life without her'.
Joanna Toole, 36, was one of the 157 passengers and crew who were killed when the Boeing jet crashed within minutes of take-off from Addis Ababa yesterday morning.
Ms Toole, from Exmouth, Devon, was one of at least 12 passengers who were travelling to Nairobi for a UN environment gathering.
Flight-tracking data showed the plane's vertical speed had fluctuated wildly in the last seconds before the crash.
Ethiopian Airlines said seven Britons, one Irishman, 18 Canadians and eight Americans were killed in the crash.
Polar expert Sarah Auffret - a British-French dual national - and former Hull resident Joseph Waithaka were named as victims last night but it was unclear if the airline had counted them among the seven Britons.
Paying tribute to Ms Toole, her father Adrian said she had flown around the world but added: 'Personally I never wanted her to be on a single one of those planes'.
He said: 'Joanna's work was not a job - it was her vocation. She never really wanted to do anything else but work in animal welfare since she was a child.
'Somehow that work took her into the international sphere and for the last 15 years she has been working for international animal welfare organisations.
'That involves a lot of travelling around the world - although personally I never wanted her to be on a single one of those planes.
'I'm an environmental campaigner myself, so partly it was because of the damage to the environment but also because it's a dangerous occupation to be flying. Up until now she had been lucky.
'Joanna was a very soft and loving person. Everybody was very proud of her and the work she did. We're still in a state of shock.
'Joanna was genuinely one of those people who you never heard a bad word about. She was one of those people who burned the candle at both ends.
Sarah Auffret (pictured), a French-British dual national, has been identified as a victim of the Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302
Irishman Michael Ryan (pictured left), who worked for the UN's World Food Programme, and Kenyan national Joseph Waithaka (right) - who used to live in Hull - were also among the 149 passengers killed
Members of the search and rescue mission look for dead bodies of passengers at the scene of the Ethiopian Airlines disaster
'She never had any doubt that she wanted to work in animal welfare and on the international scene, that meant a lot of travel. It's hard to imagine life without her.'
One of her UN colleagues, Manuel Barange, called her a 'wonderful human being who loved her work with a passion', saying he was 'so profoundly sad and lost for words' at the news of her death.
According to her LinkedIn page she had worked for the UN since 2016, living in Rome where she recently set up home with her partner.
Hospitality company Tamarind Group announced 'with immense shock and grief' that its chief executive Jonathan Seex (pictured) was among the fatalities
She previously worked at World Animal Protection and Animal Defenders International, after graduating from Anglia Ruskin University in 2004 with a degree in Animal Behaviour and Wildlife Biology.
In a blog she wrote when she worked for WAP she described herself as a keen diver, adding: 'I'm committed to the protection of all animals, but the underwater world and the animals within it are my greatest passion.'
Polar expert Sarah Auffret, who had French and British dual nationality, was also killed in the crash. Colleagues paid tribute to her as a 'true friend and beloved colleague'.
'Words cannot describe the sorrow and despair we feel,' her employers at the Norway-based Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators said.
Raised in Brittany, the environmental agent was leading AECO's efforts to cut back single-use plastics on Arctic expeditions and coordinating beach clean-ups.
Another victim, 55-year-old Joseph Waithaka, lived in Hull for more than a decade before returning to his native Kenya in 2015.
He had been visiting his wife and children, who still live in Hull, and was on his way back to Kenya via Ethiopia when he boarded the doomed flight aboard the Boeing 737 Max 8 jet.
Mr Waithaka worked for the probation service during his time in Hull and his family said he had 'helped so many people' during his time in England.
His son, Ben Kuria, said: 'My dad was a private man but he also had a pastoral heart. He really championed people. He really helped people realise their potential.
'He would tell stories which would inspire the young people he was helping who were not at a great time in their lives.
Joanna Toole, pictured, was the first British victim to be named. Paying tribute her father Adrian said she was a 'very soft and loving person' whose work with the United Nations was 'not a job but a vocation'
Ms Toole, pictured, was one of 149 passengers killed in the crash. Her father said it was 'hard to imagine life without her'
Members of the search and rescue mission look for dead bodies of passengers at the scene of the Ethiopian Airlines crash
Rescue workers collect bodies in bags at the crash site of Ethiopia Airlines near Bishoftu following Sunday's air disaster
The graphic shows how the plane's vertical speed fluctuated in the minute before it crashed near Addis Ababa airport
'As a father he was very protective and he really wanted us to do well. He supported us and ensured we got stuck into our education. He really rooted for his children.'
The one Irish victim was named as engineer Michael Ryan, an employee of the UN's World Food Programme - which said seven of its staff members had died in the crash, including two Italians.
The Rome-based aid worker and engineer, known as Mick, was from Lahinch in Co Clare in Ireland's west and was believed to be married with two children.
Last night UK Prime Minister Theresa May said she was 'deeply saddened to hear of the devastating loss of life following the plane crash in Ethiopia'.
'At this very difficult time my thoughts are with the families and friends of the British citizens on board and all those affected by this tragic incident,' she said.
Irish premier Leo Varadkar said: 'Michael was doing life-changing work in Africa with the World Food Programme. Deepest sympathies to family, colleagues and friends.'
Former U.S. President Barack Obama said on Twitter that he and wife Michelle 'send our deepest sympathies to all who knew the victims of today's plane crash in Ethiopia'.
Representatives of the UN's High Commissioner for Refugees and an employee of the World Bank also lost their lives in the disaster.
Wreckage lies at the crash site after the Ethiopian Airlines jet came down within minutes of take-off on Sunday morning
The wreckage of the plane - showing the colours of the Ethiopian flag on the plane's livery - lies at the scene of the crash
The families of those on the plane have been arriving at special information centres to find out their next steps
Family members of the victims involved in a plane crash react at Addis Ababa international airport Sunday, hours after their loves ones took off
Ethiopia Airlines group CEO, Mr Tewolde Gebremariam, who is pictured at the accident scene. Firefighters spent hours trying to get to the scene
As more victims were identified last night:
Hospitality company Tamarind Group announced 'with immense shock and grief' that its chief executive Jonathan Seex was among the fatalities. Anton Hrnko, an MP for the nationalist Slovak National Party, said he was 'in deep grief' to announce that his wife Blanka, daughter Michala and son Martin were among the dead. Three members of Italian aid group Africa Tremila were on board. The group's president Carlo Spini, his wife Gabriella Viggiani, and treasurer Matteo Ravasio were among the eight Italians killed. The African Diaspora Youth Forum in Europe said co-chairman Karim Saafi had been a passenger on the flight and had been due to represent them at a meeting with the African Union in Nairobi. Professor Pius Adesamni was named as a victim by Benoit-Antoine Bacon, the president and vice-chancellor of Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. Hussein Swaleh, the former secretary general of the Football Kenya Federation, was named as being among the dead by Sofapaka Football Club. Abiodun Oluremi Bashua - a retired envoy who served in Iran, Austria and Ivory Coast - was killed, Nigeria's foreign affairs ministry said. Austrian media reported that three doctors who were aged between 30 and 40 and worked at hospitals in Linz had died. Save the Children said its child protection in emergencies adviser Tamirat Mulu Demessie was among the dead. Three of the Russians on board were tourists Yekaterina Polyakova, Alexander Polyakov and Sergei Vyalikov, the Russian Embassy in Ethiopia said.It also emerged last night that U.S. aviation officials had issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive warning that pilots of Boeing 737-8 and 737-9 planes 'could have difficulty controlling the airplane' because of a problem with one of its systems.
A faulty sensor could cause 'excessive nose-down attitude, significant altitude loss, and possible impact with terrain', the Federal Aviation Administration had warned.
Wreckage lies at the crash site of Ethiopia Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 which came down en route to Nairobi
Part of the plane lies on the ground near Bishoftu following the crash on Sunday morning in which 157 people were killed
Flight-tracking data revealed that the plane's vertical speed - the rate of climb or descent - varied from 2,624 feet per minute to minus 1,216 within minutes of take-off.
A passenger has spoken of his relief after he missed the doomed Ethiopian Airlines flight.
Ahmed Khalid was connecting in Addis Ababa on his way from Dubai to Nairobi but the first half of his trip was delayed.
As a result he missed the ill-fated flight and boarded a later connection to Kenya.
He said passengers were asking the cabin crew what had happened but received little information, Global News reported.
Upon arrival in Nairobi he was greeted by his equally relieved father, Khalid Bzambur.
Passenger Ahmed Khalid (left), who missed the doomed Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 while connecting from Dubai, meets his father Khalid Bzambur (right) in Nairobi
According to flight-tracking website FlightRadar24, the plane, which was new and was delivered to the airline last November, 'had unstable vertical speed' shortly after take off.
Aviation experts described the data as extremely unusual, saying that once a plane has taken off the vertical speed should rise or remain stable.
Expert Sally Gethin said the plane's rapidly fluctuating speed may indicate that the aircraft stalled in the moments before it crashed.
She said: 'It's the rate of climb or descent - the most critical phases of flight. Instability at that point e.g. too slow - could destabilise the aircraft, potentially risking stalling and other hazardous consequences. It might indicate the pilots had difficulty controlling the climb/ascent.'
An experienced pilot told MailOnline the activity was highly unusual.
He said: 'A positive number indicates the aircraft is going up. After takeoff you would expect all these numbers to be positive as the aircraft climbed away from the ground, or zero if they are flying level.
'The small amount of data released so
