The damming investigation report by Indonesian investigators about the fatal Lion Air crash last October involving Boeing’s 737 Max planes has forced the largest plane maker of the world to sat that the concerns mentioned in the investigation report by Indonesia were being worked upon by the company. 189 people on board were killed in the crash.
Five months later, a crash of an Ethiopian Airlines flight involving the same aircraft model killed all of the 157 people on board.
The 737 Max planed required better cockpit design, said the report that was published recently by Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee. The report also pointed out a lack of oversight on the safety issues of the 737 Max planes by on part of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration as well as other agencies.
The anti-stall system known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS that was installed by Boeing in the cockpits of the aircraft is at the centre of the investigations in both the crashes. The system that pushes the nose of the plane downwards in the case of an emergency also made it virtually impossible for the pilots to regain control over the aircraft manually. This caused the planes to continue to dive down until they crashed into the ground or in the sea.
The Angle of Attack sensors which deliver information to anti-stall system which would then turn on the system, is being changed to function only if both sensors agree on the data, said Boeing in response to the report from Indonesian regulators.
There would only be one-time activation of the MCAS in the case of “erroneous” AoA data and it would “always be subject to a maximum limit than can be overridden with the control column”, Boeing added. The company added that the flight conditions that caused the Lion Air crash would be prevented from ever happening again by the changes that it is bringing in.
Crew manuals and pilot training are also being updated by Boeing.
The plane’s nose was repeatedly forced down by the MCAS system, the Indonesian regulators said in their report. That meant that 103 pounds of strength in an attempt to set right the plane had to be applied repeatedly by the pilots.
The regulators concluded that: “The design and certification of the MCAS did not adequately consider the likelihood of loss of control of the aircraft.”
A repair shop in Florida had not properly calibrated a critical sensor and there was evidence of this, the report also said. The Lion Air maintenance staff had also not tested it, the report added. After faults were identified on earlier flights, Lion Air had not grounded the planes, the report also found.
The report also criticized the crew of Lion Air stating that the first officer had not been briefed properly by the captain while handing over control of the planes before the craft went out of control.
The FAA has said that it would carefully consider the report’s findings and the other recommendations made by the investigators. “As we have previously promised, the aircraft will return to service only after the FAA determines it is safe,” said the statement.
(Source:www.cnbc.com)
Five months later, a crash of an Ethiopian Airlines flight involving the same aircraft model killed all of the 157 people on board.
The 737 Max planed required better cockpit design, said the report that was published recently by Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee. The report also pointed out a lack of oversight on the safety issues of the 737 Max planes by on part of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration as well as other agencies.
The anti-stall system known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS that was installed by Boeing in the cockpits of the aircraft is at the centre of the investigations in both the crashes. The system that pushes the nose of the plane downwards in the case of an emergency also made it virtually impossible for the pilots to regain control over the aircraft manually. This caused the planes to continue to dive down until they crashed into the ground or in the sea.
The Angle of Attack sensors which deliver information to anti-stall system which would then turn on the system, is being changed to function only if both sensors agree on the data, said Boeing in response to the report from Indonesian regulators.
There would only be one-time activation of the MCAS in the case of “erroneous” AoA data and it would “always be subject to a maximum limit than can be overridden with the control column”, Boeing added. The company added that the flight conditions that caused the Lion Air crash would be prevented from ever happening again by the changes that it is bringing in.
Crew manuals and pilot training are also being updated by Boeing.
The plane’s nose was repeatedly forced down by the MCAS system, the Indonesian regulators said in their report. That meant that 103 pounds of strength in an attempt to set right the plane had to be applied repeatedly by the pilots.
The regulators concluded that: “The design and certification of the MCAS did not adequately consider the likelihood of loss of control of the aircraft.”
A repair shop in Florida had not properly calibrated a critical sensor and there was evidence of this, the report also said. The Lion Air maintenance staff had also not tested it, the report added. After faults were identified on earlier flights, Lion Air had not grounded the planes, the report also found.
The report also criticized the crew of Lion Air stating that the first officer had not been briefed properly by the captain while handing over control of the planes before the craft went out of control.
The FAA has said that it would carefully consider the report’s findings and the other recommendations made by the investigators. “As we have previously promised, the aircraft will return to service only after the FAA determines it is safe,” said the statement.
(Source:www.cnbc.com)
