Ethiopian Airlines crew on doomed Boeing 737 MAX 8 jet followed recommended procedures: preliminary report

According to a preliminary report released by Ethiopia’s government, the flight crew carried out all procedures recommended by Boeing when the jet started to nose dive, but could not save it

The report was based on data from the recorders of the Boeing 737 MAX 8

Reading Time:2 minutes

An investigators at the site of the crash, southeast of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Photo: Reuters

Published: 6:40pm, 4 Apr 2019Updated: 8:41am, 5 Apr 2019

The crew of the Ethiopian Airlines jet that crashed soon after take-off last month performed all of the procedures recommended by Boeing when the plane started to nose dive but could not save it, according to a preliminary report released on Thursday by Ethiopia’s government.

The report was based on data from the recorders of the Boeing 737 MAX 8. Boeing declined to comment pending its review of the report.

The MAX 8 has been under scrutiny since a Lion Air flight crashed off the coast of Indonesia under similar circumstances in October.

Ethiopia black boxes show ‘clear similarities’ with Indonesian crash: authorities

Investigators are looking into the role of a flight-control system known by its acronym, MCAS, which under some circumstances can automatically lower the plane’s nose to prevent an aerodynamic stall.

The MAX has been grounded worldwide pending a software fix that Boeing is rolling out, which still needs approval from the Federal Aviation Administration and other regulators.

The Ethiopian Airlines jet crashed just after taking off from Addis Ababa on March 10, killing all 157 on board.

Ethiopian investigators did not specifically mention the MCAS, but recommended that Boeing review “the aircraft flight control system related to the flight controllability”.