In the wake of the recent crash of a two-month-old Boeing 737 MAX in Indonesia, Boeing issued a warning to airlines to prevent the plane from making an uncontrolled dive.
The Boeing Service Bulletin sent to airlines will be followed by an FAA Airworthiness Directive which would mandate all U.S. Airlines flying the 737 MAX take corrective action.
The crash of the Lion Air 737 MAX 8 killed all 189 people on board during an early flight on October 29. Telemetry broadcast from the plane posted on aviation websites showed an erratic flight, ending in a sharp high-speed dive down to the Java Sea.
On Monday, Indonesian officials say the same aircraft had exhibited similar erratic behavior on three previous flights.
Aviation media, such as The Air Current based in Seattle, says the focus of the service bulletin is on the “jet’s angle of attack sensor.” Adding the issue can only happen during manual flight, meaning the autopilot would be disengaged and the pilot would be flying the airplane by hand.
“The erroneous AOA input can pitch the aircraft’s stabilizing trim down for up to 10 seconds at a time,” said The Air Current.
Pilots are expected to be issued instructions on how to avoid such a condition.
Boeing has delivered more than 200 of its newest 737 variants to airlines around the world.
