The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) did not take enough action, such as shutting down the aircraft, after analyzing the risk internally shortly after the Boeing 737 Max airliner on the Lion Air in Indonesia's Java Sea last October, (WSJ) reported on Monday (August 31).

The paper quoted the FAA analyst report and management as saying that the FAA concluded that it was enough to inform pilots about the malfunction of the control system that caused the plane to dive.

Boeing and the FAA have been rushing for about 10 months to prepare for an automatic stall prevention system upgrade called the Maneuverability Enhancement System (MCAS), as pilots are aware of the hazards and know how to respond to them.

The order the FAA issued to the pilots, the WSJ pointed out, was to cope with the emergency situation by deactivating the system as needed, dealing with the MCAS in the cockpit.

On March 10, another Boeing 737 Max aircraft, the Ethiopian airliner, crashed, killing all passengers and crew members while Boeing and the FAA were making time to prepare for the software upgrade.

The death toll from Lion Air and Ethiopian airliner crashes was 346.

"The FAA analysis warned the pilots well enough that they did not review the ban on the aircraft, but instead suggested that Boeing end the MCAS software update for 10 months," the WSJ said.

A Boeing spokesperson said, "Boeing and the FAA decided based on strict safety procedures, and the process of software update was appropriate."

(yunhap news)