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Wednesday, November 14, 2018, 15:40
Pilots says Boeing didn't disclose jet's new control feature
By Agencies
Wednesday, November 14, 2018, 15:40 By Agencies

A new Air Italy Boeing 737 MAX 8 is pictured as Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Qatar Airways and Air Italy celebrate the delivery of their first 737 MAX in Everett, Washington on May 11, 2018. (JASON REDMOND / AFP)

Boeing didn't tell airline pilots about features of a new flight-control system in its 737 MAX that reportedly is a focus of the investigation into last month's deadly crash in Indonesia, according to pilots who fly the jet in the US.

Pilots say they were not trained in new features of an anti-stall system in the aircraft that differ from previous models of the popular 737.

The US aviation regulator denied on Tuesday a report that it had launched a new probe of the safety analyses performed over the years by Boeing Co on its 737 MAX models

The automated system is designed to help pilots avoid raising the plane's nose too high, which can cause the plane to stall, or lose the aerodynamic lift needed to keep flying. The system automatically pushes the nose of the plane down.

But if that nose-down command is triggered by faulty sensor readings — as suspected in the Lion Air crash — pilots can struggle to control the plane, which can go into a dive and perhaps crash, according to a Boeing safety bulletin and safety regulators.

The bulletin included new details on how to stop a runaway series of events from leading to a crash, pilots say.

"It is something we did not have before in any of our training. It wasn't in our books. American didn't have it," said Dennis Tajer, a 737 pilot and spokesman for the pilots union at American Airlines. "Now I have to wonder what else is there?"

The MAX is the newest version of the twin-engine Boeing 737. More than 200 have been delivered to airlines worldwide, including American, Southwest and United.

READ MORE: Indonesia: Situation facing crew of doomed jet not in flight manual

Boeing Chairman and CEO Dennis Muilenburg said Tuesday that the Chicago-based company remains confident the MAX is a safe airplane. He said Boeing did not withhold operating details from airlines and flight crews.

"We ensure that we provide all of the information that is needed to safely fly our airplanes," Muilenburg told Fox Business Network. He said Boeing bulletins to airlines and pilots "point them back to existing flight procedures" to handle the kind of sensor problem suspected in last month's crash.

Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg is interviewed by Maria Bartiromo during her "Mornings with Maria Bartiromo" program on the Fox Business Network, in New York on Nov 13, 2018. (RICHARD DREW / AP)

A Southwest spokeswoman said the new automated maneuvering system was not included in the operating manual for MAX models. An American spokesman said the airline was unaware of some new automated functions in the MAX but hasn't experienced nose-direction errors. A United spokesman said Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) do not believe additional pilot training is needed.

Indonesian investigators say that the Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX 8 experienced malfunctions with sensors that indicate the angle of the nose on four recent flights, including the fatal one.

The FAA issued an emergency directive last week to airlines, telling them to update cockpit manuals to include instructions for how pilots can adjust flight controls under certain conditions.

"The FAA will take further action if findings from the accident investigation warrant," the agency said in a statement Tuesday.

ALSO READ: Lion Air jet's airspeed indicator damaged on last 4 flights

The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that the FAA launched a new probe to review details surrounding the safety data and conclusions the company previously provided to it as part of certifying 737 MAX 8 and MAX 9 models. 

The US aviation regulator denied the report on the same day. "The FAA is not doing a safety probe separate from the ongoing Lion Air accident investigation of which we, the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) and Indonesian officials are a part," the agency said in an emailed statement. 

The FAA and Boeing continue to evaluate the need for software and/or other design changes to the aircraft including operating procedures and training as we learn more from the ongoing investigation, the regulator added. 

Boeing did not respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours. 

On Oct 29, Lion Air Flight 610 plunged into the Java Sea shortly after takeoff from Jakarta. All 189 people on board were killed.

Shares of Boeing Co ended Tuesday down US$7.52, or 2.1 percent, at US$349.51 after falling to US$342.04 earlier in the day.

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