Lion Air crash: Boeing and FAA to issue advice to airlines on 737 Max jets – report
Boeing is planning to write to airlines using its 737 MAX jet about how to deal with erroneous cockpit readings that could cause the airliner to dive, according to reports.
The advice is based on preliminary information gathered in the investigation of a Lion Air flight that crashed in Indonesia last week killing all 189 on
board, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The Wall Street Journal reported that US aviation regulators also intended to issue safety warnings about potentially suspect flight-control software. The advice from the Federal Aviation Authority would be binding on all US carriers flying Boeing 737 Max 8 versions.
Experts say the Boeing notice could be about the “angle of attack”, which is the angle of the wing relative to oncoming air stream, a measure that indicates if a plane is likely to stall.
Indonesian accident investigators said on Monday that an airspeed indicator on the crashed jet was damaged for its last four flights, but US authorities responded cautiously to suggestions of fleet-wide checks.
The news was first reported by Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. It said the bulletin to airlines would alert pilots to follow existing procedures to address the issue. Boeing declined to comment.
Airlines using the 737 MAX include the Singapore Airlines offshoot SilkAir, Garuda Indonesia and Canada’s WestJet, but none had received a bulletin from Boeing.
Reuters contributed to this report