Because they were only available for an additional charge, the airlines of the two crashed Boeing 737 Max have apparently refrained from having two safety-related functions built into the aircraft. This is reported by the "New York Times".
Therefore, the machines of Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines lacked the information on how much lift a wing gets. In addition, there was no warning light that would sound the alarm if the buoyancy sensors on both wings registered different values. Both functions could have indicated errors in the so-called MCAS system.
This system was, after all that is known, the cause of the crash of the Lion-Air machine in October 2018, in which 189 people died. The reason for the crash of the Ethiopian Airlines a few weeks ago is not yet clear, but first black box data point to parallels between the two accidents. The crash in March killed 157 people.
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An additional option should become the standard
It is not uncommon for aircraft manufacturers to offer additional features at a surcharge, similar to carmakers. This concerns the comfort of the passengers, such as particularly comfortable seats, beautiful lighting or additional toilets. Boeing's additional options also include communications and navigation systems and features that affect machine safety.
The latter are not legally binding for safe flight operations. Low-cost airlines such as Lion Air usually forego the expensive extras.
Boeing wants to retrofit now. At least the additional warning light should be standard part of the technology in the future, according to the news agency AFP, citing an industry source. In the coming days, Boeing will present its software update for the 737 Max to the US authorities.
Ethiopian Airlines pilots were trained for the Boeing model
Finally, there were also discussions of what role the pilots played in the accident. After the crash of the Lion Air machine, Boeing had issued a manual describing how to turn off the MCAS system. If this was indeed responsible for the crash, the pilots would probably at least be complicit.
Ethiopian Airlines had announced on Thursday that the pilots of the crashed aircraft had been trained sufficiently for flying with the Boeing 737 Max 8.
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They completed Boeing 737 NG's transitional training from the Boeing 737 NG to the Boeing 737 MAX, which was approved by Boeing and approved by the US aviation authority FAA before its fleet integration. In addition, the pilots were informed about the guidelines issued by the FAA following the crash of the Lion Air aircraft in Indonesia in October.
Ethiopian Airlines responded to another report from the New York Times stating that the crash machine pilot should not have completed training in the flight simulator for the Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft. The newspaper relied on the airline near anonymous sources. The airline called the report "disappointing," but added that the flight simulator for the 737 Max 8 was not designed to simulate the problems of the now controversial MCAS control software.