WASHINGTON, United States – The US decision on Wednesday to ground the Boeing 737 MAX came after authorities noted similarities between two recent crashes, eerily echoing…
WASHINGTON, United States – The US decision on Wednesday to ground the Boeing 737 MAX came after authorities noted similarities between two recent crashes, eerily echoing reports from American pilots who complained of problems with the plane late last year.
At least four US pilots filed reports following the October crash of a Lion Air flight in Indonesia shortly after takeoff and all complained the aircraft suddenly pitched downward, according to documents reviewed by AFP on a flight safety database.
The Lion Air crash that killed 189 people was attributed to the flight stabilization system designed to prevent the aircraft from stalling, the “MCAS.”
The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday that new evidence and satellite data indicated similarities with Sunday’s crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX 8 minutes after takeoff, killing 157.
That link “warrants further investigation of the possibility of a shared cause for the two incidents,” the FAA said in the emergency order grounding the 737 MAX 8 and MAX 9 aircraft.
Dozens of airlines and governments around the world had already taken that step.
