Ethiopian Airlines preliminary crash report shows similarities to Lion Air disaster - CNN

The captain and the first officer struggled as the Boeing 737 Max 8's systems, designed to prevent the plane stalling, repeatedly forced the nose of the plane down. For nearly six minutes, the report shows, the pilots worked through a series of procedures to try and regain control of the plane.

The captain called out "pull up" three times to tell the first officer to raise the nose. Both pilots tried to pull the nose up together to keep the plane flying, but they were unable to regain control. In total, the anti-stall system pushed the nose down four times during the flight.

In the end, after the pilots had turned back to Addis Ababa, the automated system pitched the plane into a steep dive from which it was impossible to recover, and it crashed into the ground. All 157 people on board were killed.

The problems on board the Ethiopian Airlines jet mirror those encountered on the doomed Lion Air flight 610 -- which operated the same 737 Max 8 model and crashed in October -- in what could be a significant blow to Boeing as it struggles to get the aircraft back in service.

The report on the Ethiopian Airlines crash does not specifically name the Max 8's plane's anti-stall system -- called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) -- which is suspected to have contributed to the Lion Air disaster.

But its findings make it likely that the MCAS system pushed the plane into a dive fueled by erroneous angle of attack sensor readings.

Boeing is currently working on a change to the system's software. The company recognized the similarities between the two crashes and acknowledged the role of the MCAS system in a statement Thursday. "The preliminary report contains flight data recorder information indicating the airplane had an erroneous angle of attack sensor input that activated the MCAS function during the flight, as it had during the Lion Air 610 flight," the statement said.

"To ensure unintended MCAS activation will not occur again, Boeing has developed and is planning to release a software update to MCAS and an associated comprehensive pilot training and supplementary education program for the 737 MAX."

Speaking before the release of the report, Ethiopian Minister of Transport Dagmawit Moges suggested that Boeing review "the aircraft flight control system related to the flight controllability."

She told reporters in Addis Ababa that said her agency would recommend that aviation authorities verify that Boeing has "adequately addressed" flight control issues "before release of the aircraft to operations."

The preliminary report, which has not yet been publicly released, does not specify a cause for the crash. A final report could take as long as a year to produce.

Struggle began just after takeoff

The timeline of the flight, detailed in the preliminary report, reveals that the pilots' struggle to control the plane began moments after the plane took off from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, en route to Nairobi.

Just after takeoff, one of the angle of attack sensors on board the aircraft began providing faulty information to the aircraft's systems, indicating an imminent stall to the flight crew. A stick shaker -- another system intended to warn a pilot of an imminent stall -- began shaking the pilot's yoke. Incorrectly sensing a stall, the aircraft's system tried to force the nose down.

Recognizing a problem with the automatic trim, the pilots followed emergency procedures and turned off the system. Instead, the pilots tried to use the backup manual trim wheel to adjust the trim, but the airplane was traveling too fast and the manual trim wheel would have been physically impossible to operate, according to a 737 pilot who spoke with CNN.

In the final minute of the flight, the pilot told his first officer that they had to pull up together. Thirty-two seconds before the crash, both pilots tried to trim the nose up with, and for a brief moment, the aircraft's stabilizer, controlled by the trim, made the corresponding change,

But five seconds later, the aircraft's automated systems once again trimmed the nose down, pitching the nose down even further, steepening the dive. The plane was angled 40 degrees nose down, hurtling towards the ground at 575 miles per hour as it crashed.

Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde Gebremariam has told CNN that it was too early to say whether the remedial actions being taken by Boeing would be sufficient. He added that the preliminary report proved "all the speculators with false allegations" wrong, referring to criticism and doubts over the pilot's qualifications. The airline had "always been confident" of its pilots, he said.

Representatives of US pilots gave a cautious welcome to the report. "The initial findings of the Ethiopian investigation confirm for us that an MCAS malfunction is a serious emergency and not a benign event," said Captain Jason Goldberg, a spokesman for the American Pilots Association. "We 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."​

CNN's Robyn Kriel and journalist Kaleyesus Bekele reported from Addis Ababa. Oren Liebermann wrote from Jerusalem. CNN's David Shortell and Richard Quest contributing reporting.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/04/world/ethiopian-airlines-crash-preliminary-report-intl/index.html

2019-04-04 18:58:00Z
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Ethiopian Airlines preliminary crash report shows similarities to Lion Air disaster - CNN

The captain and the first officer struggled as the Boeing 737 Max 8's systems, designed to prevent the plane stalling, repeatedly forced the nose of the plane down. For nearly six minutes, the report shows, the pilots worked through a series of procedures to try and regain control of the plane.

The captain called out "pull up" three times to tell the first officer to raise the nose. Both pilots tried to pull the nose up together to keep the plane flying, but they were unable to regain control. In total, the anti-stall system pushed the nose down four times during the flight.

In the end, after the pilots had turned back to Addis Ababa, the automated system pitched the plane into a steep dive from which it was impossible to recover, and it crashed into the ground. All 157 people on board were killed.

The problems on board the Ethiopian Airlines jet mirror those encountered on the doomed Lion Air flight 610 -- which operated the same 737 Max 8 model and crashed in October -- in what could be a significant blow to Boeing as it struggles to get the aircraft back in service.

The report on the Ethiopian Airlines crash does not specifically name the Max 8's plane's anti-stall system -- called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) -- which is suspected to have contributed to the Lion Air disaster.

But its findings make it likely that the MCAS system pushed the plane into a dive fueled by erroneous angle of attack sensor readings.

Boeing is currently working on a change to the system's software. The company recognized the similarities between the two crashes and acknowledged the role of the MCAS system in a statement Thursday. "The preliminary report contains flight data recorder information indicating the airplane had an erroneous angle of attack sensor input that activated the MCAS function during the flight, as it had during the Lion Air 610 flight," the statement said.

"To ensure unintended MCAS activation will not occur again, Boeing has developed and is planning to release a software update to MCAS and an associated comprehensive pilot training and supplementary education program for the 737 MAX."

Speaking before the release of the report, Ethiopian Minister of Transport Dagmawit Moges suggested that Boeing review "the aircraft flight control system related to the flight controllability."

She told reporters in Addis Ababa that said her agency would recommend that aviation authorities verify that Boeing has "adequately addressed" flight control issues "before release of the aircraft to operations."

The preliminary report, which has not yet been publicly released, does not specify a cause for the crash. A final report could take as long as a year to produce.

Struggle began just after takeoff

The timeline of the flight, detailed in the preliminary report, reveals that the pilots' struggle to control the plane began moments after the plane took off from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, en route to Nairobi.

Just after takeoff, one of the angle of attack sensors on board the aircraft began providing faulty information to the aircraft's systems, indicating an imminent stall to the flight crew. A stick shaker -- another system intended to warn a pilot of an imminent stall -- began shaking the pilot's yoke. Incorrectly sensing a stall, the aircraft's system tried to force the nose down.

Recognizing a problem with the automatic trim, the pilots followed emergency procedures and turned off the system. Instead, the pilots tried to use the backup manual trim wheel to adjust the trim, but the airplane was traveling too fast and the manual trim wheel would have been physically impossible to operate, according to a 737 pilot who spoke with CNN.

In the final minute of the flight, the pilot told his first officr that they had to pull up together. Thirty-two seconds before the crash, both pilots tried to trim the nose up with, and for a brief moment, the aircraft's stabilizer, controlled by the trim, moved up.

But five seconds later, the aircraft's automated systems once again trimmed the nose down, pitching the nose down even further, steepening the dive. The plane was angled 40 degrees nose down, hurtling towards the ground at 575 miles per hour as it crashed.

Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde Gebremariam has told CNN that it was too early to say whether the remedial actions being taken by Boeing would be sufficient. He added that the preliminary report proved "all the speculators with false allegations" wrong, referring to criticism and doubts over the pilot's qualifications. The airline had "always been confident" of its pilots, he said.

Representatives of US pilots gave a cautious welcome to the report. "The initial findings of the Ethiopian investigation confirm for us that an MCAS malfunction is a serious emergency and not a benign event," said Captain Jason Goldberg, a spokesman for the American Pilots Association. " We 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."​

CNN's Robyn Kriel and journalist Kaleyesus Bekele reported from Addis Ababa. Oren Liebermann wrote from Jerusalem. CNN's David Shortell and Richard Quest contributing reporting.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/04/world/ethiopian-airlines-crash-preliminary-report-intl/index.html

2019-04-04 18:44:00Z
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Ethiopian Airlines preliminary crash report shows similarities to Lion Air disaster - CNN

The captain and the first officer struggled as

Unable to stabilize the 737 Max 8 plane even after following the emergency procedures recommended by Boeing, the pilots tried together to pull the jet's nose up repeatedly during the last moments of the flight, the preliminary report revealed. But the downward force of the aircraft was too great to overcome.

The captain called out "pull up" three times to tell the first officer to raise the nose. Both pilots tried to pull the nose up together to keep the plane flying, but they were unable to regain control. The aircraft's automated systems lowered the nose four times during the flight.

The problems on board the Ethiopian Airlines flight mirror those encountered on the doomed Lion Air flight 610 -- which operated the same 737 Max 8 model and crashed in October -- in what could be a major blow to Boeing as it struggles to get the aircraft back in service.

The report on the Ethiopian Airlines crash does not specifically name the Max 8's plane's anti-stall system -- called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) -- which is suspected to have contributed to the Lion Air disaster. But its findings make it likely that the MCAS system pushed the plane into a dive fueled by erroneous angle of attack sensor readings.

Boeing is currently working on a change to the system's software. The company acknowledged the similarities between the two crashes in a statement Thursday. "The preliminary report contains flight data recorder information indicating the airplane had an erroneous angle of attack sensor input that activated the MCAS function during the flight, as it had during the Lion Air 610 flight," the statement said.

"To ensure unintended MCAS activation will not occur again, Boeing has developed and is planning to release a software update to MCAS and an associated comprehensive pilot training and supplementary education program for the 737 MAX."

Speaking before the release of the report, Ethiopian Minister of Transport Dagmawit Moges suggested that Boeing review "the aircraft flight control system related to the flight controllability."

She told reporters in Addis Ababa that said her agency would recommend that aviation authorities verify that Boeing has "adequately addressed" flight control issues "before release of the aircraft to operations."

The preliminary report, which has not yet been publicly released, does not come to a finding of probable cause. A final report could take as long as a year to produce. ​

The timeline of the flight, detailed in the preliminary report, reveals that the pilots' struggle to control the plane began moments after it left the ground.​

Seventy seconds after takeoff from Addis Ababa's Bole International Airport on March 10, one of the angle of attack sensors on board the aircraft began providing faulty information to the aircraft's systems, indicating an imminent stall to the flight crew.

The stick shaker on the pilot's yoke -- another system intended to warn a pilot of an imminent stall -- began shaking the yoke. Incorrectly sensing a stall, the aircraft's system tried to force the nose down four separate times during the flight, in the end overpowering the flight crew's ability to keep the airplane climbing.

Recognizing a problem with the automatic trim, the pilots followed emergency procedures and turned off the system. Instead, the pilots tried to use the backup manual trim wheel to adjust the trim, but the airplane was traveling too fast and the manual trim wheel would have been physically impossible to operate.

Less than two minutes later, Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 crashed, killing 157 passengers and flight crews.

CNN's Robyn Kriel and journalist Kaleyesus Bekele reported from Addis Ababa. CNN's Oren Liebermann wrote from Jerusalem

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/04/world/ethiopian-airlines-crash-preliminary-report-intl/index.html

2019-04-04 17:47:00Z
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Foreman: Early report shows plane dove at nearly 600 mph - CNN

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

1. Foreman: Early report shows plane dove at nearly 600 mph  CNN
2. Damaged sensor on Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max triggered fatal crash: Sources  ABC News
3. Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max crash findings released  CNN
4. Boeing's 737 Max Isn't Going to Fly Anywhere Soon  Bloomberg
5. Boeing’s 737 Max Defense Just Got More Difficult  Bloomberg
6. View full coverage on Google News

https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2019/04/04/ethiopian-airlines-crash-preliminary-report-foreman-bts-vpx.cnn

2019-04-04 15:55:33Z
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Ethiopian Airlines preliminary crash report shows similarities to Lion Air disaster - CNN

Unable to stabilize the 737 Max 8 plane even after following the emergency procedures recommended by Boeing, the pilots tried together to pull the jet's nose up repeatedly during the last moments of the flight, the preliminary report revealed. But the downward force of the aircraft was too great to overcome, as the aircraft's automated systems lowered the nose four times during the flight.

The captain called out "pull up" three times to tell the first officer to raise the nose. Both pilots tried to pull the nose up together to keep the plane flying, but they were unable to regain control.

The problems on board the Ethiopian Airlines flight mirror those encountered on the doomed Lion Air flight 610 -- which operated the same 737 Max 8 model and crashed in October -- in what could be a major blow to Boeing as it struggles to get the aircraft back in service.

The report on the Ethiopian Airlines crash does not specifically name the Max 8's plane's anti-stall system -- called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) -- which is suspected to have contributed to the Lion Air disaster. But its findings make it likely that the MCAS system pushed the plane into a dive fueled by erroneous angle of attack sensor readings.

Boeing is currently working on a change to the system's software. The company acknowledged the similarities between the two crashes in a statement Thursday. "The preliminary report contains flight data recorder information indicating the airplane had an erroneous angle of attack sensor input that activated the MCAS function during the flight, as it had during the Lion Air 610 flight," the statement said.

"To ensure unintended MCAS activation will not occur again, Boeing has developed and is planning to release a software update to MCAS and an associated comprehensive pilot training and supplementary education program for the 737 MAX."

Speaking before the release of the report, Ethiopian Minister of Transport Dagmawit Moges suggested that Boeing review "the aircraft flight control system related to the flight controllability."

She told reporters in Addis Ababa that said her agency would recommend that aviation authorities verify that Boeing has "adequately addressed" flight control issues "before release of the aircraft to operations."

The preliminary report, which has not yet been publicly released, does not come to a finding of probable cause. A final report could take as long as a year to produce. ​

The timeline of the flight, detailed in the preliminary report, reveals that the pilots' struggle to control the plane began moments after it left the ground.​

Seventy seconds after takeoff from Addis Ababa's Bole International Airport on March 10, one of the angle of attack sensors on board the aircraft began providing faulty information to the aircraft's systems, indicating an imminent stall to the flight crew.

The stick shaker on the pilot's yoke -- another system intended to warn a pilot of an imminent stall -- began shaking the yoke. Incorrectly sensing a stall, the aircraft's system tried to force the nose down four separate times during the flight, in the end overpowering the flight crew's ability to keep the airplane climbing.

Recognizing a problem with the automatic trim, the pilots followed emergency procedures and turned off the system. Instead, the pilots tried to use the backup manual trim wheel to adjust the trim, but the airplane was traveling too fast and the manual trim wheel would have been physically impossible to operate.

Less than two minutes later, Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 crashed, killing 157 passengers and flight crews.

Kaleyesus Bekel contributed reporting from Addis Ababa

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/04/world/ethiopian-airlines-crash-preliminary-report-intl/index.html

2019-04-04 17:07:00Z
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Ethiopian Airlines preliminary crash report shows similarities to Lion Air disaster - CNN

Unable to stabilize the 737 Max 8 plane even after following the emergency procedures recommended by Boeing, the pilots tried together to pull the jet's nose up repeatedly during the last moments of the flight, the preliminary report revealed. But the downward force of the aircraft was too great to overcome.

The captain called out "pull up" three times to tell the second-in-command to raise the nose. Both pilots tried to pull the nose up together to keep the plane flying, but they were unable to regain control.

The problems on board the Ethiopian Airlines flight mirror those encountered on the doomed Lion Air flight 610 -- which operated the same 737 Max 8 model and crashed in October -- in what could be a major blow to Boeing as it struggles to get the aircraft back in service.

The report on the Ethiopian Airlines crash does not specifically name the Max 8's plane's anti-stall system -- called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) -- which is suspected to have contributed to the Lion Air disaster. But its findings make it likely that the MCAS system pushed the plane into a dive fueled by erroneous angle of attack sensor readings.

Boeing is currently working on a change to the system's software. The company acknowledged the similarities between the two crashes in a statement Thursday. "The preliminary report contains flight data recorder information indicating the airplane had an erroneous angle of attack sensor input that activated the MCAS function during the flight, as it had during the Lion Air 610 flight," the statement said.

"To ensure unintended MCAS activation will not occur again, Boeing has developed and is planning to release a software update to MCAS and an associated comprehensive pilot training and supplementary education program for the 737 MAX."

Speaking before the release of the report, Ethiopian Minister of Transport Dagmawit Moges suggested that Boeing review "the aircraft flight control system related to the flight controllability."

She told reporters in Addis Ababa that said her agency would recommend that aviation authorities verify that Boeing has "adequately addressed" flight control issues "before release of the aircraft to operations."

The preliminary report, which has not yet been publicly released, does not come to a finding of probable cause. A final report could take as long as a year to produce. ​

The timeline of the flight, detailed in the preliminary report, reveals that the pilots' struggle to control the plane began moments after it left the ground.​

Seventy seconds after takeoff from Addis Ababa's Bole International Airport on March 10, one of the angle of attack sensors on board the aircraft began providing faulty information to the aircraft's systems, indicating an imminent stall to the flight crew.

The stick shaker on the pilot's yoke -- another system intended to warn a pilot of an imminent stall -- began shaking the yoke. Incorrectly sensing a stall, the aircraft's system tried to force the nose down four separate times during the flight, in the end overpowering the flight crew's ability to keep the airplane climbing.

Recognizing a problem with the automatic trim, the pilots followed emergency procedures and turned off the system. Instead, the pilots tried to use the backup manual trim wheel to adjust the trim, but the airplane was traveling too fast and the manual trim wheel would have been physically impossible to operate.

Less than two minutes later, Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 crashed, killing 157 passengers and flight crews.

Kaleyesus Bekel contributed reporting from Addis Ababa

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/04/world/ethiopian-airlines-crash-preliminary-report-intl/index.html

2019-04-04 16:33:00Z
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Brexit talks: Will Labour push a public vote option? - BBC News

The view of Labour members seems clear.

Polling for a project on party membership - led by Prof Tim Bale of Queen Mary University - was published at the turn of the year.

It suggested more than 70% of Labour's members backed a second referendum.

And if it were held, nearly nine out of 10 would vote to remain in the EU.

But this wasn't a poll of shadow cabinet members.

Nine of Jeremy Corbyn's top team are very, very sceptical of - or opposed to - another referendum.

And most of these are his political allies.

Public vote, private fears

The man he installed as Labour Party chairman - Ian Lavery - is reported to have offered his resignation twice because he broke the party whip and failed to back a referendum in the recent indicative votes. Twice Mr Corbyn refused to accept it.

From a Leave-supporting area in north east England, Mr Lavery is convinced Labour would pay a high political price if it is seen to be disrespecting the result of the 2016 referendum.

It's interesting that the elections co-ordinator, Andrew Gwynne, who is not as close to Mr Corbyn, takes a similar view.

So far, a formulation around the question of a second referendum has just about maintained a show of unity from senior figures in public - though this is now fraying.

The form of words deployed is that Labour would support a "public vote" in order to avoid "a hard Tory Brexit" or "no deal".

But these caveats now worry supporters of a referendum in the party - including some who sit at Mr Corbyn's top table.

The fears are fuelled by the current cross-party talks.

Because if Mr Corbyn was to reach a deal with Theresa May which avoids "a hard Tory Brexit", would the referendum commitment melt away?

Shadow boxing

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry was so concerned she wrote to shadow cabinet colleagues last night to argue that ditching a public vote on any deal - including one hammered out with the prime minister - would breach party policy and would require a vote of the whole shadow cabinet.

At last night's special meeting of shadow ministers, I am told Ms Thornberry's possible leadership ambitions were aired. (She couldn't be there for family reasons).

Key figures in Mr Corbyn's office were furious at her intervention.

But the party's deputy leader Tom Watson - who doesn't always see eye to eye with the shadow foreign secretary - took to the airwaves to insist: "Our position is we want a confirmatory ballot.

"It's very difficult for us to move off that because I don't think our party would forgive us if we signed off on Tory Brexit without that kind of concession."

Even more uncomfortably for the Labour leader, left-wing allies have written to him to push for a referendum commitment in talks with the prime minister.

The eleven signatories include shadow ministers Clive Lewis and Rachael Maskell.

They wrote: "We - your supporters - urge you to make a confirmatory public vote your bottom line in negotiations with Theresa May and to fight to bring this government down."

Mr Corbyn has said he did raise the "option" of a public vote with Mrs May yesterday and shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said today that a "confirmatory vote" would be discussed at what are being billed as technical discussions between Labour and Conservative frontbenchers.

Meaningful policy?

Behind the scenes there is what to outsiders will look like a "dance on the head of a pin" argument going on as to what Labour's policy actually is on a public vote - but the interpretation could determine how hard, or otherwise, the referendum is pushed in talks.

The motion agreed last autumn at Labour's conference says "should Parliament vote down a Tory Brexit deal, or the talks end in no deal" then there should be a general election.

If that doesn't happen, then "Labour must support all options remaining on the table, including campaigning for a public vote".

Supporters of a referendum say that Mrs May's "Tory Brexit deal" - as represented by two meaningful votes - has been voted down.

So Labour should now be calling unequivocally for a "public vote" on any deal.

Sceptics and opponents stress, on the other hand, that it should still be a last resort to prevent no deal, or another attempt to get Mrs May's unrevised deal over the line.

Divided we stand

So a group of 25 Labour MPs from Leave areas has written to Mr Corbyn urging him to "compromise" in talks with Mrs May.

The group includes the shadow minister Gloria De Piero, and former shadow minister Melanie Onn, who resigned because she voted against the referendum option rather than abstain on an indicative vote.

More familiar supporters of Mrs May's current deal - such as Caroline Flint and Sir Kevin Barron - have added their names too - as has Lisa Nandy, the former frontbencher who has so far held out against the prime minister's deal, but who could be persuaded if it were combined with a customs union.

The signatories say: "Our policy… seeks a deal that protects jobs and rights at work. It does not require a confirmatory ballot on any deal that meets those conditions."

The political hook

But sources close to the Labour leader think the fuss over a referendum is over-blown, as government and opposition are unlikely to agree a joint motion on Brexit in any case.

It's far more likely there will be a series of votes on a range of options - including a referendum - next week.

Peter Kyle, who drafted a motion on the option of a referendum during the phase of indicative votes, is hopeful of success.

His formulation garnered more votes - though not a majority - from MPs than any other option.

But some close to the Labour leadership believe it will, once again, be rejected.

That outcome would get both the prime minister and the opposition leader off a potentially painful political hook.

But it doesn't bring a Brexit deal any closer.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47817325

2019-04-04 14:14:39Z
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