The anti-stall system was "in play" on the Ethiopian Boeing 737 Max | News from the world

The anti-stall system used by pilots prior to the crash of a Boeing 737 Max operated by Lion Air in October was also to be activated before 157 people were killed this month on a flight of the same model departing from Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian Airlines. CEO said.

The new feature of the 737 Max Maneuverability Enhancement System (MCAS) was evidenced by an investigation into the previous crash, in which 189 people were killed when their plane crashed into the Java Sea off Indonesia 12 minutes after takeoff.

Ethiopian leader Tewolde GebreMariam told the Wall Street Journal that he believed MCAS was also "to the best of our knowledge" at stake for the brief flight of Flight 302 from Addis Ababa.

MCAS automatically forces the nose of the plane to avoid stall. It was introduced to compensate for the new position of the engines on the 737 Max model. A preliminary report on the Lion Air accident suggested the combination of incorrect sensor readings and MCAS having contributed to the sea diving of the aircraft.

The remarks reported by GebreMariam are the first of a senior official close to the flight confirming the operation of MCAS, although he said that only the investigation would provide conclusive evidence. The black boxes are in Paris and are being badyzed by the BEA, the French office of investigation of aircraft accidents.

In an official statement released by the Ethiopian Monday morning, GebreMariam said that he "did not want to speculate on the cause" but "many questions about the plane 737 Max remain unanswered".

He again stressed the modernity of the company's safety and training systems, which include a simulator dedicated to the 737 Max, adding: "Contrary to some media reports, our pilots who pilot the new model have been trained on all appropriate simulators. The crews were well trained on this plane. "

Despite the accident, he said: "Let's be clear: Ethiopian Airlines believes in Boeing."

The vote of confidence should be welcomed by Boeing, whose title has been beaten since the two accidents. The company will this week inform more than 200 airline pilots, technical experts and regulators of software upgrades and training for the 737 Max. It is planned to provide all aircraft with improved warning devices as standard. A badpit lamp reporting faulty sensors had been installed in many aircraft – including the American Airlines fleet – but had not been purchased by Lion Air or Ethiopian.

On Friday, the Indonesian company Garuda became the first airline to cancel its order for the model, thus accusing the lack of public trust. It only took one of the 50 ordered 737 Max aircraft, worth up to $ 6 billion on the indicated prices.

The current world fleet of 387 aircraft remains on the ground as investigations continue. The badpit voice recorder, found in the debris of the Lion Air aircraft, showed that the pilots were consulting a manual to understand why the 737 Max had continued to rock in the last minutes before crashing into the sea.