Boeing says it will fix a software problem linked to the Ethiopian airlines Boeing 737 MAX crash
Boeing Co. says it will fix a software malfunction on the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The software malfunction has been linked to two crashes in less than five months involving Indonesia’s Lion Air flight 610 in October last year and Ethiopia Airlines Flight ET 302 earlier in the month, where all 156 people including 32 Kenyans died.
The Software; Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System or MCAS was designed to lower the aircraft’s nose to position, if it detects a stall or uncontrolled maneuvering upon receiving data from two sensors.
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It is suspected that in both crashes, faulty readings from the sensors triggered MCAS system to send the plane into a series of dives thereby causing the pilots to lose control of the Aircraft.
Boeing says that in addition to the fix, pilots around the world will also receive specialized training to give them a better understanding of how MCAS works.
In October last year, Lion air flight 610 crashed into the Java sea twelve minutes after take-off killing all 189 people on board, this was followed by the crash of Ethiopia Airlines Flight ET 302 in Bishoftu, Ethiopia, just six minutes after take-off killing all 156 people on board. The two airlines were operating the Boeing 737 MAX.
Following the deaths of over 300 people after the two fatal crashes involving the 737 MAX, governments and airlines around the world including Kenya Airways grounded the aircraft.
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