Airlines reeling after Ethiopia crash
THE widespread grounding of Boeing 737 MAX jets after the crash in Ethiopia will hurt the aeronautical industry, say analysts.
The Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash was the second such calamity involving Boeing’s flagship new model – one came down off Indonesia in October with 189 people on board.
Investigators in France on Friday examined the black boxes of the jet that crashed in Ethiopia as the global airline industry waited to see if the cause was similar to the disaster in Indonesia months earlier.
Regulators have grounded the 737 MAX around the world and the US manufacturer has halted deliveries of thousands of planes.
Air Canada suspended its 2019 financial forecasts, while United Airlines, the third largest US airline, said its operations would be adversely affected if the jets remained grounded in the peak summer travel season.
Southwest Airlines, which operates the world’s biggest 737 MAX fleet, is expected to take a big profit knock.
A potential Chinese order for more than 100 jets worth $10billion was in doubt.
US authorities say information from the wreckage in Ethiopia and data on its flight path show some similarities.
In both crashes, the pilots had asked to return minutes into flight. Parallels between the disasters have frightened travellers and wiped billions of dollars off Boeing stock.
Two sources said investigators retrieved a piece of a stabiliser, which moves the nose up and down, set in an unusual position – similar to that of the Lion Air plane that crashed in Indonesia.
A preliminary report focused on maintenance, training and an anti-stall system.
Boeing said it planned to roll out a software upgrade in coming weeks for the 737 MAX.
French authorities have the flight data and cockpit voice recorders, though Ethiopia is formally leading the investigation and US experts are in Paris and Addis Ababa. First conclusions could take several days. The New York Times said the captain, Yared Getachew, initially reported a “flight control” problem in a calm voice before asking to return in panicked tones three minutes into the flight. “Break break, request back to home,” he told controllers, the newspaper reported.
The jet initially flew below the minimum safe height for its climb, then once at higher altitude was oscillating up and down by hundreds of feet, all at abnormally fast speed, The newspaper said. It then disappeared from radar over a military zone and lost contact with controllers five minutes after take-off.
In Ethiopia, relatives have been visiting the charred and debris-strewn field to pay last respects. The victims came from 35 nations.
Diplomats fear trucks and excavators at the site could be destroying vital evidence, while some policemen have been taking selfies inside the security cordon. Israeli Ilan Matsliah rushed to Ethiopia, thinking he would quickly find the remains of his brother for burial in accordance with Jewish tradition.
“More than 24 hours is a problem for us. But I have been here for more than 96 hours,” the 46-year-old said. “We are now stuck in the same place, the same as Monday. We are very emotional.”
With heightened global scrutiny, the head of Indonesia’s transport safety committee said a report into the Lion Air crash would be speeded up for release in July or August.
Legal experts said even non-american families of the victims in Ethiopia might be able to sue Chicago-based Boeing in the US – where payouts are larger – because eight of the dead were American and plaintiffs could argue that liability hinges on system design and safety decisions made by executives.