Pilot who hitched a ride saved doomed Boeing 737 MAX 8 on next-to-last Lion Air flight

An off-duty pilot, who was seated in the cockpit jump seat, correctly diagnosed the problem and told the crew how to disable a malfunctioning flight-control system and save the plane, said sources

The presence of a third pilot in the cockpit wasn’t contained in Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee’s November 28 report on the crash

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A grounded Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft sits on the tarmac in Cenkareng, Indonesia. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 8:59am, 20 Mar 2019Updated: 10:17pm, 20 Mar 2019

As the Lion Air crew fought to control their diving Boeing 737 MAX 8, they got help from an unexpected source: an off-duty pilot who happened to be riding in the cockpit.

That extra pilot, who was seated in the cockpit jump seat, correctly diagnosed the problem and told the crew how to disable a malfunctioning flight-control system and save the plane, according to two people familiar with Indonesia’s investigation.

The next day, under command of a different crew facing what investigators said was an identical malfunction, the jetliner crashed into the Java Sea killing all 189 aboard.

The previously undisclosed detail on the earlier Lion Air flight represents a new clue in the mystery of how some 737 Max pilots faced with the malfunction have been able to avert disaster while the others lost control of their planes and crashed.

The presence of a third pilot in the cockpit wasn’t contained in Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee’s November 28 report on the crash and has not previously been reported.

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