New Delhi: American aeroplane manufacturer Boeing ‘turned aside’ pilots of Ethiopian Airlines potentially critical information on how to deal with a flawed flight control system in the company’s 737 Max line of aircraft, while sharing that same information with US pilots, according to a report in The New York Times.
The report said that just one month after a plane crash in October 2018 involving a 737 Max plane operated by Lion Air of Indonesia, the chief pilot of Ethiopian Airlines had contacted Boeing, seeking information on how to deal with the same problem that led to the Lion Air crash, should it occur in one of their aircraft.
“But Boeing chose not to answer the Ethiopian pilot’s questions beyond referring him to a public document it had already issued after the Lion Air crash,” the report said. “Boeing said in its response that it was prohibited from giving additional information because it was providing technical support to Indonesian authorities investigating that crash.”
The report further stated that, at the time that it denied information to Ethiopian Airlines, Boeing was providing detailed briefings to pilots in the US “who were asking the same types of questions about how to respond”.
Three months later, in March 2019, an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max aircraft crashed soon after take-off, killing all 157 people on board. The accident was put down to a flawed flight control system, the same cause that had led to the Lion Air crash killing 189 people.
“While it is unclear whether the pilots of the doomed Ethiopian Airlines flight could have avoided crashing had Boeing provided a more detailed response, the pilots seemingly struggled with some of the same issues for which the chief pilot requested clarification from Boeing,” the report said.
It further pointed out that an Ethiopian government investigation report, released in December 2022, found that if Boeing had provided more information to Ethiopian Airlines’ pilots about how to respond in the event of a software malfunction, they might have been able to regain control of the 737 Max aircraft that crashed.
Boeing is currently facing multiple investigations and lawsuits in the US regarding safety and quality issues.
In a statement responding to questions, NYT quoted Boeing as saying, “We will never forget the lives lost on these flights and their loved ones.”
“Their memory and the hard lessons we learned from these accidents drive us every day to uphold our responsibility to all who depend on the safety and quality of our products. Boeing cooperated fully and transparently with all investigations into the accidents,” it said.
‘Difference between life and death’
The NYT investigation noted that “numerous details” of the Lion Air crash were discussed by Boeing officials in briefings with US pilots.
After the Lion Air crash, the company’s executives sought out US pilots to brief them on topics that were not discussed with the Ethiopian pilots, including long-term strategies for improving flight safety, the report said.
It added that the briefing for American pilots included a detailed explanation of the flight control system that failed, known as MCAS.
“The company’s representatives highlighted efforts to address and clarify what they called misunderstandings related to MCAS. They pushed for training that would extend beyond routine checklists, focusing instead on equipping pilots with a thorough understanding of system behaviours and potential failures,” the report noted.
It highlighted that the chief pilot of Ethiopian Airlines was seeking guidance similar to what was shared by Boeing in briefings with US pilots.
“Who knows what they would have done with the information, but not having it seals the deal,” the report said, quoting Dennis Tajer, a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, which represents American Airlines pilots.
“Any information given to the Ethiopian pilots, like we had, could have made the difference between life and death,” said Tajer, a pilot who flies the 737 Max, according to the report.
The report said Tajer attended the meeting Boeing had held with American pilots and posed several questions to Boeing representatives himself.
“Our meeting with Boeing covered the same questions that the Ethiopian pilots were asking. It’s clear that they had the same questions we had but did not get the answers that we got from Boeing,” he was quoted as saying.
According to the report, Boeing, in its denial of information to the Ethiopian Airlines chief pilot, had cited a legal provision known as Annex 13, which governs crash investigations and was established by the United Nations agency International Civil Aviation Organization.
The main goal of the provision, the report said, is to provide safety information and data to help avoid future accidents.
“It makes clear that investigations should not be about figuring out who is to blame. Boeing has argued that its decision not to share more information was validated by the National Transportation Safety Board, though the board has disputed Boeing’s characterisation of its position,” the report added.
This is an updated version of the report
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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