Ethiopian flight: black box reveals what failed – ElSol.com.ar – Diario de Mendoza, Argentina

According to the New York Times, the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX black box damaged on March 10 suggests that a sensor that triggered a system causing the accident failed.

The New York newspaper has published information that is not yet public but that, according to its sources, indicate that the accident was caused by a faulty sensor that would have triggered an incorrectly automated system.

This system, called MCAS, would be responsible for having folded the front of the device.

The Ethiopian Airlines flight breakdown coincides with that of another Boeing 737 MAX of Indonesian Airlines, which was damaged last October, suggesting a systemic problem with these US-made aircraft.

In fact, the investigations of both accidents focused on the automatic system (MCAS), which in some circumstances tilts the nose of the aircraft to avoid stall, ie the fact of do not have sufficient air speed

In the case of the accident in Ethiopia, the control tower records indicate that one minute after take-off, the pilot reportedly reported a "flight control" problem with his aircraft and requested shortly after the return of the aircraft. an airstrip.

The similarities between this accident and that of the 737 MAX 8 in Indonesia in October led US, European, Chinese, Turkish, Australian, Australian and Mexican regulators, among others, to suspend the flights of these aircraft. Boeing until causes are clarified.

In the Ethiopian Airlines accident, 157 people died and in that of Indonesian Airlines, 189.

The United States Department of Transportation this week opened an investigation into the certifications that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted to the new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.

The FAA has delegated to manufacturers themselves the power to certify new aircraft in recent decades, which has reduced costs for the government and accelerated the launch of new models.