An anti-stall system at the centre of a probe into the crash of a Boeing 737 MAX jet in Indonesia was also at play when the same model aircraft crashed in Ethiopia, three people briefed on the matter say. Data pulled from the Ethiopian Airlines flight recorder suggests the so-called MCAS system, which pushes the nose of the jet downwards, had been activated before the jet ploughed into a field outside Addis Ababa on March 10. These initial airflow readings from the Ethiopian jet refer to stall-related information needed to trigger the automated nose-down MCAS system. However, it was not immediately clear whether the system on the Ethiopian jet was responding to faulty sensor data, as in the case of the earlier crash, or genuine stall indications. An Ethiopian-led investigation is trying to establish whether the system overpowered the pilots, a leading scenario in the Lion Air crash, and what action was taken by the crew.

Source: Ethiopian News March 29, 2019 18:33 UTC