The cause of ET 302 Boeing 737-8 Max airplane crash that killed all 157 passengers and crew on board in Ethiopia in March 2019 was a faulty safety feature, according to Ministry of Transport and Logistics.
The aircraft flying from Addis Ababa to Nairobi about four years ago crashed few minutes after takeoff killing all the passengers and crew on board.
The ET 302 Boeing 737-8 Max Aircraft Accident Investigation Final Report concluded that the crash was due to safety feature failure.
Transport and Logistics Minister, Dagmawit Moges, stated that the final report confirms that there was nothing wrong before takeoff.
“The airplane’s Left Angle of Attack (AOA) sensor failed immediately after takeoff, sending faulty data to the flight control system. The erroneous data, in turn triggered the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), which repeatedly pitched the nose of the plane down to the point the pilots lost control.”
Angle of attack sensors on the aircraft tells the MCAS to automatically point the nose of the plane down if it is in danger of going into a stall.
MCAS is an automated safety feature on the 737 Max 8 designed to prevent the plane from entering into a stall, or losing lift, it was learned.
The minister stated that the final report is in line with and builds on the preliminary and interim reports that were released before.
French and US Aviation institutions have supported the investigations carried out by the Accident Investigation Bureau in the ministry.
The ET 302 Boeing 737-8 Max Aircraft Accident Investigation Final Report will be published on the ministry’s website soon. (ENA) December 23/2022