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Boeing report: pilots followed guidance but could not control Ethiopian plane Ethiopia says pilots followed Boeing guidance before crash
(about 2 hours later)
Ethiopian Airlines pilots followed proper guidance before the fatal crash of a Boeing 737 Max 8 plane last month, Ethiopia’s transport minister has said as she delivered the first official report on the disaster. The pilots of the Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max that crashed last month killing 157 people followed Boeing’s emergency instructions but were still unable to stop the plane’s nose repeatedly pointing down, investigators said.
“The crew performed all the procedures repeatedly provided by the manufacturer but was not able to control the aircraft,” Dagmawit Moges told a news conference in Addis Ababa. The Ethiopian government said data from the plane’s recorders showed “repetitive uncommanded aircraft nose-down conditions” and said Boeing should review its aircraft control system.
In line with international rules on air accidents, the preliminary report did not attribute blame. Nor did it give a detailed analysis of the flight, which is expected to take several months before a final report due within a year. The country’s transport minister, Dagmawit Moges, did not cite the aircraft’s controversial anti-stall system, but said: “The crew performed all the procedures repeatedly provided by the manufacturer but was not able to control the aircraft.”
But in a clear indication of where Ethiopian investigators are focusing most of their attention, the report cleared the pilots of using incorrect procedures and issued two recommendations directed at planemaker Boeing and regulators. Who were the victims of the Ethiopian Airlines crash?
It suggested that Boeing review the aircraft control system and aviation authorities confirm the problem had been solved before allowing that model of plane back into the air. It was grounded globally following the crash, which was the second deadly accident in six months involving the new model after a Lion Air crash in Indonesia in October that killed 189 people. The Boeing jet crashed on 10 March shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa. It was the second crash of a 737 Max in five months, after the Lion Air disaster in Indonesia in October, which killed 189 people.
“Since repetitive uncommanded aircraft nose-down conditions are noticed … it is recommended that the aircraft control system shall be reviewed by the manufacturer,” she said. Ethiopian Airlines said the report clearly showed the pilots followed procedures. “Despite their hard work and full compliance with the emergency procedures, it was very unfortunate that they could not recover the plane from the persistence of nosediving,” it said.
Ethiopian Airlines said its crew had followed all the correct guidance to handle a difficult emergency. Ethiopian investigators said the full investigation to determine what other factors may have been involved could take up to a year.
However, the report could spark a debate with Boeing about how crew responded to problems triggered by faulty data from an airflow sensor, particularly over whether they steadied the plane before turning key software off. While air investigation reports do not apportion blame, the Ethiopian inquiry has again highlighted the 737 Max control system. Indonesian investigations into the Lion Air crash have focused on Boeing’s anti-stall system, Mcas, new on the Max model of 737 aircraft.
Boeing said it would study the report. Pilots on the Lion Air flight, which also crashed within minutes of takeoff, battled to keep the plane pointing upwards as Mcas forced the nose down. After that crash, Boeing issued instructions to pilots on how to override the Mcas system, but the Ethiopian crash report suggests they may not have worked.
Families of the 157 victims, along with regulators and travellers around the world, are waiting for information on the cause of the disaster in which the Boeing jet crashed six minutes after takeoff. Boeing could be left liable for huge payouts to victims and airlines. Lawsuits relating to both disaster have already been filed in the US, and some pilots have complained that the new features in the Max were not the subject of more comprehensive retraining.
A Lion Air 737 Max 8 crashed five months earlier in Indonesia, killing all 189 onboard. 'Saved by luck': the passenger who just missed flight ET302
The preliminary report into the Lion Air disaster said the pilots lost control after grappling with the plane’s manoeuvring characteristics augmentation system (MCAS), a new automated anti-stall feature that repeatedly lowered the nose of the aircraft based on faulty data from a sensor. The manufacturer also faces an investigation by the US Department of Justice, with FBI involvement, into its development process, and Senate hearings into how the Federal Aviation Administration allowed it to self-certify parts of its aircraft.
The 737 is Boeing’s bestselling current model, with around 5,000 orders worth up to $600bn, of which 300 planes have so far been delivered to airlines. Both Ethiopian and Lion’s models had been in operation only for a matter of months before the crashes occurred.
Last week Boeing outlined a planned software fix to prevent Mcas from repeatedly operating, and said cockpit alerts to warn of potentially incorrect data from sensors would be fitted as standard.
Regulators around the world grounded the plane in the aftermath of the second crash, with the US eventually following suit.
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