Capt. Jason Goldberg, spokesperson for the Allied Pilots Association, said today's findings show that the malfunction involving the automated anti-stall software — the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS — is "a serious emergency." "The initial findings of the Ethiopian investigation confirm for us that an MCAS malfunction is a serious emergency and not a benign event," he said in a statement. The Allied Pilots Association is American Airline’s pilots union. Goldberg said pilots remain "cautious and hopeful that the potential fix will be thoroughly vetted and not hurried or fast tracked." "The APA will remain actively engaged to ensure that the 737 Max will fly again only when all stakeholders are satisfied the aircraft is ready,” he said.<doc-sep>The crew of the Ethiopian Airlines jet that crashed six minutes after takeoff last month performed all procedures recommended by Boeing when the plane started to nosedive and they could not save it, according to findings from a preliminary report released Thursday by Ethiopia's government. The preliminary report was based on flight data and cockpit voice recorders on the Boeing 737 Max 8. The Max 8 has been under scrutiny since a Lion Air flight crashed off the coast of Indonesia under similar circumstances in October. Investigators are looking into the role of a flight-control system known by its acronym, MCAS, which under some circumstances can automatically lower the plane's nose to prevent an aerodynamic stall. The plane has been grounded worldwide pending a software fix that Boeing is rolling out, which still needs approval from the Federal Aviation Administration and other regulators. The Ethiopian Airlines jet crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa on March 10, killing all 157 on board, including 18 Canadians. Ethiopian investigators did not specifically mention the MCAS, but recommended that Boeing review "the aircraft flight-control system related to the flight controllability." They also recommended that aviation officials verify that issues have been adequately addressed before allowing the planes to fly again. Boeing said on Thursday that its new software fix for its anti-stall system will give pilots the authority to always override the system if it's activated by faulty sensor data. "The history of our industry shows most accidents are caused by a chain of events. This again is the case here, and we know we can break one of those chain links in these two accidents," Boeing chairman-CEO Dennis Muilenburg said in a written statement. "As pilots have told us, erroneous activation of the MCAS function can add to what is already a high workload environment. It's our responsibility to eliminate this risk. We own it and we know how to do it." CBC News found that the Boeing 737 Max 8 manual only mentions MCAS once: Boeing 737 Max 8 manual mentions MCAS only once The National 4:31 Since the recent crashes of two Boeing 737 Max, pilots say they were kept in the dark about the existence of a key software suspected of being connected to the tragedies. CBC News has obtained a copy of the 737 MAX flight crew manual - and what’s not in it raises troubling questions about the manufacturer’s lack of disclosure. 4:31 Investigators could not yet say whether there is a structural problem with the plane, Reuters reported. "We will analyze whether other problems were existing on this aircraft," Amdye Ayalew Fanta, the head of the investigation, told the news conference, adding this would take between six months and a year. In a statement Thursday, Ethiopian Airlines said its pilots followed Boeing instructions. "Despite their hard work and full compliance with the emergency procedures, it was very unfortunate that they could not recover the airplane from the persistence of nosediving," the airline said. FAA to take 'appropriate action' Boeing is the focus of investigations by the U.S. Justice Department, the U.S. Transportation Department's inspector general and congressional committees. Investigations are also looking at the role of the Federal Aviation Administration in the U.S., which certified the Max in 2017 and declined to ground it after the first deadly crash in October. The FAA, which must certify the 737 Max is safe before it can go back into the air, said in a statement that the investigation is still in its early stages. "As we learn more about the accident and findings become available, we will take appropriate action," the agency said. The statement did not say if the FAA would review the Max's flight-control system, as recommended by Ethiopian investigators, and FAA spokesperson Greg Martin would not comment beyond the statement. Boeing is working on improvements to the MCAS software that would make it less aggressive in pointing the nose down and easier for pilots to disable. The FAA has said it will review the software before allowing the Max to fly again. A distraught relative is assisted after she is overcome at the site where the Boeing 737 Max 8 went down. (Tony Karumba/AFP/Getty Images) But it wasn't clear whether the Ethiopians are seeking just that or a broader update in the Max's flight controls. What also isn't clear is whether the Ethiopian pilots followed Boeing's recommendations to the letter in dealing with the system repeatedly pointing the nose down. The pilots initially followed Boeing's emergency steps by disconnecting the MCAS system, but for an unknown reason, they turned the system back on, an official familiar with the crash investigation told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because at the time, Ethiopian investigators had not released their preliminary report. Boeing's procedures instruct pilots to leave the MCAS system disconnected and continue flying manually for the rest of the flight. You've let us down. You've killed people when you've let us down - Adnaan Stumo , brother of one of the victims Ethiopian investigators did not address that issue at a news conference to release the preliminary report, saying only that the pilots had done what they were supposed to. "The crew performed all the procedures repeatedly provided by the manufacturer but was not able to control the aircraft," said Minister of Transport Dagmawit Moges. However, Moges told the New York Times after the news conference that the pilots turned MCAS on and off, but she couldn't say how many times. That will be addressed in the final report, she said. Lawsuits Boeing is facing several lawsuits, including seven filed in Chicago earlier by one law firm alone, claiming the flight-control system was defective and that Boeing failed to warn airlines about it or fully train pilots. The family of a 24-year-old American passenger on the Ethiopian jet has sued Boeing in Chicago. The complaint, which also names Ethiopian Airlines and parts maker Rosemount Aerospace as defendants, is alleging negligence and civil conspiracy, among other charges. "Blinded by its greed, Boeing haphazardly rushed the 737 Max 8 to market" and "actively concealed the nature of the automated system defects," the lawsuit alleges, demonstrating a "conscious disregard for the lives of others." "You've let us down. You've killed people when you've let us down," said Adnaan Stumo, the victim's brother, addressing Boeing during a news conference in Chicago. Report links two 737 Max crashes, analyst says David Hasse, an aviation analyst and editor of industry publication airliners.de in Berlin, says it is significant that the report found that the pilots followed the proper procedures, because that links the case more closely to the Lion Air crash. "What is special about this case is that two crashes seem to have a very, very similar reason. This is something that is very rare in aviation. The question is whether the Boeing 737 Max should have been grounded after the Lion Air crash and before the Ethiopian Airlines crash," said Hasse. He noted that crash reports are not meant to assign legal blame and that it is too soon to know what the legal implications might be for Boeing, but it clearly increases the pressure on the company. "If pilots sit there and follow the rules that have been given to them by the manufacturer, then they should be able to rely on the fact that they are correct," Hasse said.<doc-sep>
Ethiopian Airlines pilots followed proper procedures when their Boeing MAX 8 plane repeatedly nosedived before a March 10 crash that killed 157 people, Ethiopia’s minister of transport said on Thursday as she delivered the first official report on the disaster. “The crew performed all the procedures repeatedly provided by the manufacturer but was not able to control the aircraft,” Dagmawit Moges told a news conference in the capital, Addis Ababa. In line with international rules on air accidents, the preliminary report did not attribute blame. Nor did it give a detailed analysis of the flight, which is expected to take several months before a final report due within a year. But in a clear indication of where Ethiopian investigators are focusing most of their attention, the report cleared the pilots of using incorrect procedures and issued two recommendations directed at planemaker Boeing and regulators. It suggested that Boeing review the aircraft control system and aviation authorities confirm the problem had been solved before allowing that model of plane back into the air. It was grounded globally following the crash, which was the second deadly accident in six months involving the new model after a Lion Air crash in Indonesia in October that killed 189 people. “Since repetitive uncommanded aircraft nose down conditions are noticed ... it is recommend that the aircraft control system shall be reviewed by the manufacturer,” Moges said. Ethiopian Airlines said its crew had followed all the correct guidance to handle a difficult emergency. However, the report could spark a debate with Boeing about how crew responded to problems triggered by faulty data from an airflow sensor, particularly over whether they steadied the plane before turning key software off. Boeing said it would study the report. Families of the victims, regulators and travellers around the world are waiting for clues to the accident after the new Boeing jet crashed six minutes after take-off. The preliminary report into the Lion Air disaster said the pilots lost control after grappling with the plane’s Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) software, a new automated anti-stall feature that repeatedly lowered the nose of the aircraft based on faulty data from a sensor. Boeing said on Wednesday it had successfully tested an update of the MCAS software designed to reduce its authority and make it easier for pilots to handle. - Reuters