Boeing to Issue Alert Its Planes Can Abruptly Dive During Flight – Report

A Boeing 737 MAX owned by an Indonesian low-coster fell into the Java Sea, killing all 189 on board, on October 29. Although a probe is still underway, the Indonesian authorities earlier urged the US-based company to take steps to prevent such accidents; more than 200 jets of this model are in service worldwide.

Boeing, based in Chicago, is preparing to issue a safety bulletin to companies operating its new 737 MAX airliners, the model involved in the recent deadly crash in Indonesia, as Bloomberg reports, citing its sources.

The US-based aircraft manufacturer plans to warn operators that these jets can abruptly dive because of “erroneous readings from a flight-monitoring system,” according to the outlet. The person, who wished to remain unnamed, noted that when pilots are manually flying Boeing 737 Maxes, the jet is prone to automatically push down the nose if the plane determines that an aerodynamic stall is imminent. The key measurement is the so-called angle of attack, at which the wind passes over the wings.

With the warning, pilots would be advised to stick to an existing procedure to tackle such situations. The company routinely sends out safety and maintenance updates to operators; however, this one is reportedly based on the preliminary findings of the Lion Air crash.

The probe is still underway. However, on November 5, the Indonesian Transportation Safety Committee, which is responsible for investigating the tragedy, pleaded with the US National Transportation and Safety Board as well as Boeing “to take necessary steps to prevent similar incidents, especially on the Boeing 737 Max, which number 200 aircraft all over the world.”