The similarities between the crash of Ethiopia Airlines ET302 on Sunday and Lion Air JT610 last October are, on the surface, startling.
Both flights were operated by brand new Boeing 737 Max 8 jets, both planes struggled to gain altitude and both crashed, killing all onboard just minutes after takeoff.
And while investigators are still working to determine the cause of the Lion Air crash, and have only just recovered the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder from the latest wreckage, the Ethiopia Airlines CEO is acknowledging the concern.
“We believe the similarities are substantial,” Tewolde GebreMariam told CNN on Tuesday. “There are questions without answers on [this] airplane.”
Tug-of-war with automated system
Last October, Indonesian air safety investigators released a preliminary report on the Lion Air crash, which revealed for the first time that the pilots onboard that flight were battling against an automated system unique to the Boeing 737 Max, trying to gain altitude and to keep the aircraft in flight.
That system, known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), is an automated safety feature, designed to prevent an aircraft from stalling, or losing lift, during flight.
Indonesian investigators revealed that onboard the Lion Air flight, an angle of attack sensor, which helps a plane fly both safely and efficiently, malfunctioned, feeding faulty data to the onboard computer, suggesting the plane was in danger of stalling when it wasn’t. The 737 Max 8 MCAS system responded as it was designed, by pitching the nose of the aircraft down.
The pilots fought the automated system in a tug-of-war, as the aircraft pitched up and down more than two dozen times, before finally plunging into the Java Sea, killing 189 passengers and crew.
Investigators also revealed the pilots operating the same aircraft one day earlier had encountered similar conditions, but managed to control what’s known as a runaway stabilizer, and land safely.
In early November, Boeing and aviation regulators like the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, issued a bulletin, advising airlines to notify pilots of the anti-stall system onboard 737 Max aircraft, and more importantly, providing a checklist of how pilots should effectively respond.
Airlines around the globe like WestJet, which had been flying the 737 Max 8 since 2017, say they were caught off guard and were not aware of the MCAS system at the time of the Lion Air crash.
Max 8 pilot says Canada can do better
A Canadian commercial pilot, who currently flies the 737 Max 8, says they didn’t learn about the MCAS system until at least a week after the Lion Air crash.
“I found out through an [airline memo] and then I had to figure out what to do about it,” he said.
CTV News agreed not to identify the pilot because the pilot is not authorized to speak to the media and expressed concerns about job security.
When asked whether Canada should ground 737 Max aircraft after the Ethiopia Airlines crash, the pilot responded: “No, I think it’s a safe airplane. The only concern I have is the level of knowledge and the pilot flying it.”
The pilot detailed that they had been given four hours of classroom training on the Max 8 prior to the Lion Air crash, and no time in a 737 Max simulator, and expressed concern that more hadn’t been offered.
“We all need to get trained for something we’re physically in. It wasn’t enough.”
Air Canada, WestJet, and Sunwing all operate 737 Max 8 aircraft. CTV News reached out to all 3 airlines about their 737 Max training programs, and asked how they incorporated the automated anti-stall feature, which isn’t found onboard previous 737 models.
One of the issues widely raised by aviation experts is that the 737 Max is certified as a common type of aircraft, meaning the training required for some previous 737 models is enough for flying the Max.
WestJet spokesperson Lauren Stewart told CTV News the airline “elected to develop a supplementary series of [computer-based training]…to bridge the systems and procedural differences between the two aircraft variants.”
“Furthermore, our pilot group’s overall training has been specifically designed for recovery in any scenario,” Stewart added.
Air Canada and Sunwing did not respond to CTV’s questions by deadline.
On Monday, Boeing released a statement explaining that I’s been working on “flight control software enhancement” for the 737 MAX, which includes updates to MCAS, pilot displays, operation manuals and crew training. The manufacturer says it expects the deploy the upgrade across the 737 Max fleet no later than April.
Meanwhile, back in Ethiopia, the airline’s chief said his pilots were aware of the automated anti-stall system and had received additional training after the Lion Air crash.
“The pilots were well briefed…and there was training reemphasized on MCAS, and on flight control in general,” GebreMariam said.
