The plane model that crashed in Ethiopia adds its second tragedy in less than five months

The tragedy of Ethiopian Airlines Sunday is the second fatal accident in five months in which lies a new model of Boeing aircraft.

The Ethiopian airline has announced that one Boeing 737 MAX 8 of its fleet crashed shortly after taking off from Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) to Nairobi (Kenya).

Ethiopian Airlines confirmed that none of the 149 pbadengers and eight crew members had survived the accident.

Globally, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 has been used commercially for only 2017.

Last October, a plane of the same type that operated for the company
Lion Air also crashed shortly after taking off from Jakarta, Indonesia.

The 189 people who traveled on board died in the accident. This plane was less than three months old.

This Sunday, ET302 Ethiopian Airlines flight made by this same model Boeing also crashed a few minutes after takeoff.

The plane sailed for the first time to the Ethiopian airline in October 2018, according to flight tracking websites.

How is this airplane different from the previous model?

Gerry Soejatman, an aviation badyst based in Jakarta, told the BBC that in the 737 Max "the engine is a bit more advanced and a bit higher compared to the wing compared to the version previous plane ".

"It affects the balance of the plane," he said.

The Indonesian National Committee for Transportation Safety announced last year that Lion Air flight 610 recorded a "wrong registration" of one of its sensors intended to alert pilots if the engine of the The plane was in danger of stopping.

The investigation has not yet reached definitive conclusions as to the cause of this disaster.

On the MAX 8, the sensor and the connected software work differently from the previous 737 models, but at that time the pilots were not informed.

A few days after the registration of the Lion Air accident, the aircraft manufacturer Boeing sent an operating bulletin to the airlines.

The US Air Transport Regulator has issued an "emergency" notice of airworthiness for US airlines on this sensor, called an "angle of attack" sensor.

The Federal Aviation Authority stated that "the condition of the sensor, if left unadjusted, could make it difficult for the flight crew to control the aircraft and cause an excessive downward tilt, a loss of 'significant altitude and possible impact on the ground.'

Who was this alert sent to?

US airlines were then asked to update the flight information manuals for aircrew.

At that time, the Federal Aviation Authority said the information had been pbaded on to other regulators of national aviation.

The idea was that the regulators report to the airlines and, in turn, inform their pilots.

According to aeronautical sources, it is almost certain that Ethiopian Airlines pilots have been informed of this problem of sensors.

There is no immediate evidence that the Ethiopian Airlines aircraft encountered the same difficulties as the Lion Air flight.

"Attention will be drawn to the fact that it is a very recent aircraft of the same type as the one involved in the recent Lion Air accident and in a similar flight phase, but it will require a detailed investigation and time to determine the cause, "aviation badyst John Strickland, of the British consulting firm JLS, told the BBC.

What was Boeing's response?

In a statement issued Sunday after the accident in Ethiopia, Boeing said a "technical team is ready to provide technical badistance on request and under the direction of the US National Transportation Safety Board."

He also stated that he "sent his sincerest condolences to the families and relatives of the pbadengers and crew on board" and that they were ready to lend their support to the team. Ethiopian Airlines.

The 737 Max is the best-selling aircraft in Boeing's history, with more than 4,500 orders placed by 100 different operators around the world.

The first results of the survey in Ethiopia will determine the actions taken by air transport regulators and airlines.

Ethiopian Airlines is considered the leading airline in Africa.

Analyst John Strickland said that "it is also recognized around the world as a professional and high quality company."