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The captain of a convicted plane of Ethiopian Airlines did not have the chance to train on the new simulator of his carrier for the Boeing 737 MAX 8 before his death in an accident with 157 others, said a colleague pilot.
Captain Yared Getachew, 29, was scheduled for retraining in late March, his colleague told Reuters two months after Ethiopian Airlines received one of the first simulators of its kind.
The March 10 disaster, following another crash of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 in Indonesia in October, sparked one of the largest investigations in aviation history. It focused on the safety of a new automated system and the understanding of its condition by the teams.
Read also: Boeing waits 737 Max fix software by the end of March
In both cases, the pilots lost control shortly after take-off and engaged in a lost battle to prevent their planes from diving.
The Boeing 737 MAX 8, which came into service two years ago, is equipped with a new automated system called MCAS (Maneuverability Enhancement System). It is designed to prevent loss of lift that can cause aerodynamic stall and send the unit down uncontrollably.
"Boeing has not sent any textbooks on the MCAS," said the Ethiopian Airlines pilot at Reuters in the hotel lobby, refusing to give his name, his staff having been prayed not to speak in public.
"In fact, we know more about MCAS in the media than in Boeing."
Under unprecedented surveillance and with its MAX fleet around the world, the world's largest planner said the airlines had received instructions on how to respond to the activation of the MCAS software. He also promises a quick update.
Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the pilot's remarks. He did not say that 737 pilots should train on one of the new simulators to fly a 737 MAX, whose engines are bigger and slightly more advanced than the previous model.
"I think Boeing understated the differences between the 737NG and the MAX," said John Cox, aviation safety consultant, former US airlifter and former chairman of the US Airline Pilots Air Safety Council. Association.
"As a result, the simulator manufacturers did not push it either. Operators were not aware of the magnitude of the differences, "he told Reuters in a statement about the Ethiopian pilot's remarks.
Read also: the United States does not suspend Boeing 737 MAX airplanes
"IRRESPONSIBLE" AIRLINE CHIDES
Ethiopian Airlines announced on Thursday that its pilots had completed the Boeing recommended training and approved by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on the differences between the previous 737 NG and the 737 MAX.
They were also informed of an emergency directive after the crash in Indonesia, which was incorporated into the manuals and procedures, he said in a tweet. The 737 MAX simulator was not designed to reproduce the problems of the MCAS system, he added.
"We urge all parties concerned to refrain from making such misinformed, incorrect, irresponsible and misleading statements during the period of the investigation of the accident," he said. .
Yared's brother said that he had traveled to Miami twice in the last two years to train on a simulator, but he did not know which one. Miami has a 737 MAX simulator since 2017.
Globally, most commercial airline pilots update their simulator training every six months. During the crash in Ethiopia, it was unclear whether Yared's colleague – 25-year-old senior officer Ahmednur Mohammed, also dead in the crash – had used the new simulator.
The 737 MAX 8 was put into commercial service in 2017, but according to Boeing, airlines, unions and regulators, only the 737 old drivers were required to take computer training.
In December, two months after the crash of Lion Air in Jakarta, the main simulator producer, CAE Inc of Canada, announced that it had delivered only four MAX simulators to airlines.
At that time, airlines around the world were ordering CAE to order 30 MAX simulators, which cost between $ 6 and $ 15 million each, depending on customization.
Southwest Airlines Co, the world's largest operator in the world, will not be ready to use its first MAX simulator until October, its pilot union said Wednesday.
"It is still very disturbing to us that Boeing has not revealed the MCAS to operators and pilots," the badociation told members in a memo seen by Reuters.
Source: Reuters
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