Boeing MAX 8 pilots cleared of blame for nose-dive crash

THE pilots of the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 which crashed killing 157 have been cleared of blame.

They desperately tried to stop it nose-diving shortly after take-off from Addis Ababa last month by “repeatedly” following correct procedures. But a preliminary report said they were unable to regain control.

Last night US sources said the jet hit something – probably TRANSPORT MINISTER Moges a bird – causing the computer to malfunction and send it into a dive. All aboard flight ET302, including eight Britons, died. It was the second MAX 8 crash in five months. Ethiopian Transport Minister Dagmawit Moges said: “The crew repeatedly performed all the procedures provided.” Investigators urged Boeing to review the control system before MAX 8s fly again.

AIRCRAFT makers Boeing look increasingly responsible for the Ethiopian plane crash which claimed 157 lives.

When pilots are unable to prevent a brandnew jet repeatedly nose-diving despite performing all required procedures, passengers around the world are entitled to entertain the very gravest fears.

Those worries will only be magnified by the fact the accident came just five months after the loss of an identical 737 Max model off Indonesia.

Air travel remains relatively safe, yet the toll in individual incidents is nearly always heavy.

Boeing is a superpower of the aviation world. But after two of its planes have plunged from the clouds, it would do well to reflect that no corporation is too big to fail.