Investigators reported the jet experienced similar problems on previous flights. Lion Air had the plane in service for about four months. The report also blamed Boeing and the FAA for not considering "the likelihood of loss of control of the aircraft" if MCAS failed.
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The aircraft flight manual and flight crew training did not include information about MCAS.” While the report said more than one factor contributed to the crash, it criticized MCAS and lack of pilot training: “The investigation considered that the design and certification of this feature was inadequate. Pilots attempted to manually override the system more than two dozen times, investigators found. MCAS responded by pushing down the plane’s nose, forcing the pilots to fight for control. Investigators said a sensor malfunctioned and sent false data to a flight computer, telling it the plane’s nose was too high and that the aircraft would stall. The design defects focused on the aircraft’s angle-of-attack sensors, two small winglets on each side of the plane below the cockpit windows. The Lion Air flight climbed, struggled to maintain altitude, then descended. It never reached 6,000 feet before it crashed into the Java Sea. All 189 people aboard were killed.Ī typical flight reaches an altitude of 25,000 feet in about 10 minutes. 29, 2018, a Lion Air 737 MAX was the first of two passenger jets to crash. Lion Air, the largest service in Indonesia, became one of the first to buy the MAX with an order of 201 models in November 2011. That gives planes longer ranges and new options for budget flight routes, which piqued interest from overseas airlines. CFM, a partnership between GE and Saffron Aircraft Engines, claims the LEAP is 15% more fuel efficient the previous CFM56-7 model. The larger engines were CFM International LEAP-1Bs. Some pilots have said they were not aware MCAS was part of the aircraft’s systems.
That reduced training time for pilots.īoeing’s position is that MCAS was designed to operate in the background and became operational only when needed. MCAS is an onboard flight-control system designed to compensate for larger engines and make the MAX feel like previous 737 generations to pilots.Ģ. It allowed Boeing to sell the MAX to airlines by presenting it as a re-engined, but comfortably familiar, 737. Investigations cited the MAX’s Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS, as one of several factors. Instead, the MAX, and its flight-control system, grabbed public attention after the two high-profile air crashes five months apart, in October 2018 and March 2019. Southwest Airlines called it the future of its all-Boeing 737 fleet when it introduced the plane in October 2017. Boeing hoped for similar success with the MAX. Airlines have embraced it since the 1980s. Introduced in 1967, it's now in its fourth generation. The narrow-body 737 is Boeing’s best-selling airplane. Turnaround times at airport gates are faster than those of wide-bodies. They're built relatively low to the ground, which makes it easier to work on engines and load and off-load baggage, especially at smaller airports. The status of Boeing deliveries was not immediately clear, with one source saying they too could be briefly disrupted.Airlines use narrow-body aircraft for short- and mid-range flights.
A freeze on deliveries following the crashes was lifted in late 2020. People familiar with the matter said the problem had been traced back to a change in the material used for insulation once production of the 737 MAX resumed last year. The chief operating officer of American Airlines, which said the issue affected 17 of its most recently delivered 737 MAX, told employees that Boeing has traced the issue to a production change made in the installation process. 737 MAX operators – Southwest Airlines, American Airlines and United Airlines – said they had removed a total of 63 jets from service following the notice from Boeing.
That compares with 453 delivered since the plane first went into service, based on data up to end-February.īoeing said a total of 16 operators were affected. The issue affects about 90 planes globally, sources briefed on the matter said.