ETHIOPIAN PILOTS FOLLOWED PROCEDURES, INVESTIGATORS SAY
ADDIS ABABA— Ethiopian Airlines pilots followed proper procedures when their Boeing Max 8 airplane repeatedly nosedived before a March 10 crash that killed 157 people, according to the first official report on the disaster
“The crew performed all the procedures repeatedly provided by the manufacturer but was not able to control the aircraft,” Transport Minister Dagmawit Moges said.
Systems review urged
She recommended that Boeing review the aircraft control system and that aviation authorities confirm the problem had been solved before allowing that model of plane back into the air.
The jet model has been grounded globally following the crash, which was the second deadly accident in six months involving the newmodel.
A Lion Air 737 Max 8 crashed just five months earlier in Indonesia killing all 189 aboard.
The preliminary report into the Lion Air disaster said the pilots lost control after grappling with the plane’s Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) software, a new automated antistall feature.
The MCAS reengaged and pushed the jet downward after the pilots initially turned it off due to suspect data from an airflow sensor, two people familiar with the matter said.
The investigation has now turned toward how MCAS was initially disabled by pilots, in line with part of a cockpit checklist procedure, but then appeared to start working again before the jet plunged.
Focus on timing
Officials briefed on the matter said key questions were when did the pilots at the helm of the Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max disengage the MCAS system and did they do it too late to regain control.
The sources said the system is not designed to resume operations unless the crew acts and the crew may have unintentionally reengaged the system as it desperately tried to pull the plane out of its descent.
They cautioned the data was still being reviewed and that the findings were preliminary.