Boeing and FAA alert on the safety of a 737 Max 8 aircraft following the Lion Air crash in Indonesia

Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration issued a safety alert to flight crews regarding the potential misreadings of a sensor from its latest 737 Max 8 aircraft, following the accident. Lion Air crash in Indonesia last month. Everyone on board was killed when he plunged into the sea moments after takeoff.

Boeing stated that it issued an "Operational Manual Bulletin" dealing with procedures to be followed by flight crews in cases where "incorrect information was provided by a flight crew member. [Angle of Attack] "The angle of attack" is the angle of the aircraft or its wings compared to the plane or the wind. The FAA has stated "that this situation, if it is not resolved, could make it difficult to control the aircraft by plane and excessive dive attitude, significant altitude loss and possible impact. in the field. "

"We publish this [airworthiness directive] because we evaluated all relevant information and determined that the unsafe situation described above was likely to exist or develop in other products of the same design, "writes the FAA. Due to the need to correct an urgent flight safety situation, a valid reason exists to make this AD effective in less than 30 days. "

The Lion Air flight with 189 people on board crashed into the sea off the coast of Jakarta on October 29, marking the first crash involving the Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft. The recorder "black box" data indicates its speedometer malfunctioned in its last four flights, investigators said said Monday.

In a statement, the FAA announced its intention to enforce the use of Boeing's sensor instructions.

"The FAA continues to work closely with Boeing and, as a member of the Lion Air accident investigation team in Indonesia, will take other appropriate action based of the results of the investigation, "said the agency in a statement.

There are 49 Boeing 737 Max aircraft in service in the United States, including 26,737 Max 8 in service at Southwest Airlines, 16 at American Airlines and seven Max 9 at United Airlines.

Southwest issued a statement stating that it had thoroughly reviewed Boeing's guidance.

"Our existing 737 Max 8 operating procedures address the scenarios described in the bulletin.To highlight our commitment to safety, Southwest is issuing a communication to highlight existing procedures for Southwest pilots operating our 737 Max 8 fleet. "said the company. "Safety is Southwest's top priority, and we will continue to work closely with Boeing and the FAA to maintain the integrity of our fleet and validate our operating practices." Max Southwest Fleet of 8 Aircraft 26 aircraft is fully operational and we do not expect any disruption to our schedule. "

The American said that they "had received Boeing 's newsletter and we were looking at it.And yes, we currently have seven Max 9 systems in service (…) there is no need for it. is not planned to change our operations with our 737 Max ".

United said: "We are receiving a Boeing Flight Operations Manual Bulletin, which applies to the current 16,737 Max 8 in our fleet, which reiterates the existing and established procedures for the 737 Max. 8 pilots. "

Kris Van Cleave and Peter Martinez contributed to this report.