Months before crash in Ethiopia, pilots feared for Boeing's safety

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At a meeting held last November, American Airlines pilots met with Boeing about potential safety issues related to his 737 Max aircraft, US media reported.

According to audio obtained by CBS and the New York Times, they called for swift action after the first deadly crash of the 737 Max off Indonesia in October.

Boeing would have resisted their calls but promised a software solution.

But it had not been deployed when an Ethiopian 737 Max crashed four months later, killing 157 people.

At present, 737 Max aircraft are immobilized worldwide, while an anti-stall system could have contributed to both accidents.

Boeing is updating the system, known as MCAS, but denies that it is only because of disasters.

At an in camera meeting with Boeing executives last November, which was secretly recorded, American Airlines pilots can be heard to voice their concerns about the safety of MCAS.

Boeing Vice President Mike Sinnett told the pilots, "No one has yet to conclude that the only cause of this is this feature in the plane."

Later in the meeting, he added, "The worst thing that can happen is a tragedy like this, and the worst thing would be another."

The pilots also complained of not being informed of MCAS, which was new to the 737 Max, until the Lion Air crash off Indonesia, which caused 189 deaths.

"These guys did not even know that this damn system was installed in the plane, any more than anyone else," said Mike Michaelis, head of security at the pilot union.

Boeing declined to comment on the November meeting, saying, "We are focusing on working with pilots, airlines and global regulators to certify Max's updates and provide additional training so that planes can return to service. all security. "

American Airlines said it was "confident that the imminent software updates, as well as the new training elements developed by Boeing for the Max, will soon lead to the recertification of the aircraft".

Following the accident in Lion Air, Boeing gave additional instructions to pilots in the event of MCAS malfunction.

But in a letter from the AFP news agency, Mr Michaelis said the instructions were not enough to help the pilots in case of a malfunction.

At the meeting, Michaelis also reportedly asked Boeing executives to consider upgrading the software for the 737 MAX 8, which would likely have required aircraft grounding for some time.

According to the New York Times, the leaders said they did not want to find a solution, and that they expected the pilots to handle the problems.

Investigators believe that in both fatal accidents, a faulty sensor has triggered the aircraft's MCAS anti-stall system, which has repeatedly pushed the aircraft's nose down.

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Earlier this month, Boeing admitted that it was experiencing another problem with its 737 Max jet aircraft a year before the fatal accidents, but took no action.

The company said it inadvertently made an alarm feature instead of standard, but insisted it did not jeopardize flight safety.

The function – an angle of attack disagreement alert (AOA) – was designed to inform pilots when two different sensors were reporting conflicting data.

The US Federal Aviation Administration said the problem was "low risk," but said Boeing could have helped "eliminate any possible confusion" by warning him earlier.

Boeing is working on a hotfix for his flight system and is hoping to get quick approval from the regulators.

But we do not know if the planes will be back in the air before the end of the summer season.