Pilots on an Ethiopian Airlines flight last month reportedly followed emergency procedures outlined by Boeing before a deadly crash that killed all 157 people on board.
The Wall Street Journal, citing people briefed on the preliminary findings of an investigation, reported Wednesday that the pilots turned off an automated flight control system on the Boeing 737 Max jet that was pushing the plane’s nose downward, but were still unable to prevent the aircraft from crashing.
{mosads}The Journal noted that the revelation calls into question claims made by Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that pilots could have avoided the crash by following safety procedures.
According to the Journal, the pilots shut off power to motors driven by the system but then apparently turned the system back on. It’s not clear why the pilots turned the system back on, but officials told the Journal that it was likely because attempts to raise the nose weren’t successful.
The automated flight control system, called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), has come under intense scrutiny following the Ethiopian Airlines crash and another crash last year in Indonesia.
Investigators believe the system was erroneously activated during the Lion Air flight in Indonesia last year, forcing the plane to dive down in a crash that killed all 189 people on board. The MCAS is believed to have played a similar role in the Ethiopian Airlines crash.
Investigators are probing how the system was certified as well as whether pilots received adequate training on the system.
For weeks, Boeing 737 Max jets have been grounded in the U.S. and in other major countries as a cautionary measure. The FAA said earlier this week that Boeing needs more time to propose a software fix to the MCAS and said the proposal is expected within the coming weeks.