All five were on board Ethiopian Airways' Boeing 737 Max which had crashed, killing all 157 passengers and crew on board. Another NYT piece scrutinised the training the ET 302 captain received and questioned Ethiopia Airlines' procedures. The same day, Ethiopia Airlines released a preliminary report which alleged that the MCAS system, designed to stabilise the plane and prevent stalling, was activated repeatedly minutes before the crash. Both Ethiopia Airlines and Lion Air apparently had decided to opt out, perhaps not knowing that the indicators were, in fact, be a "life-saving" feature, and not just an extra. Boeing is a flagship US company, which has sold over 300 737 Max planes so far.

Source: Ethiopian News April 19, 2019 12:45 UTC