New plane also ‘carries high risk’

The Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane involved in the incident has only been in operation since August 15. Lion Air said the flight had suffered from an unspecified “technical problem” in a previous flight, but that it had been “resolved”. Aviation analyst Gerry Soejatman told the BBC that “very old aircraft are usually at the highest risk [of accidents], but very young aircraft also carry a high risk”. “If it’s very new there are sometimes snags that only reveal themselves after they are [used routinely]. These usually get sorted [within] the first three months.” The plane would have hit the three month mark in just a few weeks.