Boeing 737 Max Lion Air report points to a series of failures

Investigators in Indonesia reportedly found that the Lion Air crash last year that killed 189 people was the result of a series of failures, including from the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee on Friday released a report on the crash of the Boeing 737 Max plane, according to CNBC. It said that Boeing needed to design better cockpit systems and that the FAA and other agencies should provide better oversight. 

CNBC reported that the investigators determined that Boeing’s automated maneuvering characteristics augmentation system (MCAS) forced the plane’s nose downward.{mosads}

“The design and certification of the MCAS did not adequately consider the likelihood of loss of control of the aircraft,” it said. 

It also found that a particular sensor was not properly calibrated by a Florida repair shop and that it was not tested by Lion Air staff. 

Investigators also reportedly determined that the Lion Air captain did not sufficiently give information to the first officer when giving the officer control. 

Indonesian air accident investigator Nurcahyo Utomo said at a press conference that nine factors contributed to the accident, as reported by the BBC.  

“If one of the nine hadn’t occurred, maybe the accident wouldn’t have occurred,” Utomo said. 

Boeing responded to the report in a statement outlining the changes it is making in the wake of the crash. The company said that it has made it so that MCAS will compare information from both of a plane’s angle of attack sensors before activating and will be subject to a limit that can be overridden. 

“These software changes will prevent the flight control conditions that occurred in this accident from ever happening again,” the statement said. 

The company is also updating its crew manuals and pilot training. 

The FAA said in a statement that the report was “a sober reminder to us of the importance of that mission, and we again express our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those who were lost in that tragic accident.”

“We welcome the recommendations from this report and will carefully consider these and all other recommendations as we continue our review of the proposed changes to the Boeing 737 MAX,” it added. “The FAA continues to review Boeing’s proposed changes to the 737 MAX. As we have previously stated, the aircraft will return to service only after the FAA determines it is safe.”

The planes and review standards came under scrutiny following the Lion Air crash and a subsequent Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed 157 people. The 737 Max planes were grounded in the aftermath of those crashes.