A preliminary report by Ethiopian authorities found that pilots “were not able to control the aircraft” before flight ET302 crashed six minutes after take-off from Addis Ababa on March 10, killing all 157 passengers and crew.
Ethiopia’s transport minister Dagmawit Moges told a news conference: “The crew performed all the procedures repeatedly provided by the manufacturer, but were not able to control the aircraft.”
She also recommended that Boeing review the 737 MAX’s control systems because of “repetitive uncommanded aircraft nose down conditions” onboard the aircraft.
Moges added that this type of aircraft, which is currently grounded worldwide while Boeing works on a software fix for the control system, should only be allowed back into service once aviation authorities confirmed the problem had been solved.
All Boeing 737 MAX aircraft were grounded last month because of similarities between the Ethiopian Airways incident and the crash of a Lion Air 737 MAX in October 2018.
Ethiopian Airlines said the report showed pilots on the doomed flight had “followed the Boeing recommended and FAA-approved emergency procedures to handle the most difficult emergency situation created on the airplane”.
The airline group’s chief executive Tewolde GebreMariam said: “We are very proud of our pilots’ compliances to follow the emergency procedures and high level of professional performances in such extremely difficult situations.
“All of us at Ethiopian Airlines are still going through deep mourning for the loss of our loved ones and we would like to express our deep sympathy and condolences for the families, relatives and friends of the victims.”
Earlier this week, Boeing said it needed more time to work to work on a software fix for the 737 MAX’s control system, known as MCAS.
The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) said it was expecting to receive the final version of Boeing’s software update “over the coming weeks” for approval.
But the FAA added time would be needed for “additional work” resulting from an ongoing review of the aircraft’s flight control system. Boeing had previously suggested the update would be completed by the end of March.
Norwegian’s chief executive Bjorn Kjos tweeted on Wednesday about being shown proposed cockpit changes by Boeing in a 737 MAX simulator.
He said the new system “seems foolproof” with switches allowing the pilots to “turn the system completely off”.
Kjos added he would “gladly take my family onboard a Norwegian MAX”.
