SEATTLE —
KING 5 Investigators have obtained a never-seen-before document that could shed new light on what contributed to a 2019 Ethiopian Airlines Boeing jet crash that killed everyone on board. The lead Ethiopian investigators say they never saw this document.
Ed Pierson spent three years at Boeing’s Renton plant as part of his 10-year career as a senior manager. After he left, he went from internal whistleblower to well-known public critic of the company, telling Congress about glaring problems on the 737 MAX production floor.
He said a newly leaked document from a current Boeing employee proves what he’s been saying all along-- that despite Boeing’s denial, the company had production problems years ago that could have contributed to the Ethiopian MAX crash in 2019.
"This is the most important evidence I've seen in 5 years," Pierson told KING 5.
Three months before the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed everyone onboard, the same Boeing plane had an in-flight scare: the jet suddenly rolled mid-air; no one was injured.
The newly surfaced document shows communication between Boeing and Ethiopian Airlines about that “roll to the right.” Boeing engineers diagnosed what caused it, they “suspect an intermittent fault with the fmc 1,” meaning an electrical problem.
An Ethiopian investigator tasked with finding out what caused the deadly crash three months after the roll told KING 5 in an email that part of the information was "incorporated in our investigation." However, the investigator said that the "correspondence between the operator and Boeing” was not provided and they never saw this specific document. The investigator said it was a “blunder” and would have been a "vital piece of information.”
In the Ethiopian government’s final report, which came out in 2022, it said “Boeing never acknowledged electrical malfunctions that occurred on both MAX planes leading up to the accidents.” It’s unclear why the airlines never provided the communication.
Pierson said the electrical issue Boeing diagnosed could have contributed to the crash and if this document had been handed over to Ethiopian investigators, the problem could have been addressed in the Boeing production line.
“This information is so critical that had the information been shared at the time, properly shared, it would have completely altered all the investigations. It would have altered the accident investigation. It would have altered all the government investigations and the hearings,” said Pierson.
Boeing stood by its decision and said in an emailed statement that the company “provided relevant records, including information from this document, to investigators according to the international protocols that govern accident investigations.”
Boeing would not confirm whether this specific document was sent to investigators and when we asked for proof, Boeing declined to provide it.
The statement then deferred "to the investigative agencies for further information." In 2023, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) went out of its way to say electrical defects did not play a role in the crash. It said the cause of the crash was a software system issue (MCAS), pilot error and a bird strike.
The Ethiopan Airlines crash wasn’t the first of a 737-MAX. Four months prior, on Oct. 29, 2018, a 737 MAX jet flown by Indonesia’s Lion Air crashed killing all 189 on board.
Then, days after the Ethiopia crash in March that killed 157 people, the FAA grounded the 737 MAX for 20 months.
“Our system of aircraft safety only works when everyone is transparent,” said aerospace engineer Joe Jacobsen.
Jacobsen, who worked at Boeing for more than a decade and at the FAA for 26 years, agreed that this document should have been shared. Boeing had to make updates to its software, computer and pilot training in order to get their jets back in the sky.
“In my 40 years, we kept making great progress and these MAX crashes were an incredible downward slide in aviation safety and people need to know that it was not just a fluke. It was bad decisions; it was concealing information,” said Jacobsen.
Tacoma attorney Mark Lindquist represents some Ethiopian crash victim families. He said his clients feel like Boeing is concealing information and this new document could be another example of that.
“Victim families want justice, they want accountability, and they also want to know what happened, they want a full understanding of the big picture. We all do,” said Lindquist.
Lindquist added that there are “still many pieces missing from the puzzle” of what happened.
Pierson, the first documented whistleblower to bring attention to the 737 MAX manufacturing issues, said he wants to make aviation safer for the flying public. That’s why he’s making this document, which he received from a current employee, public. He wants to make aviation safer for the flying public.
“We absolutely want them to be successful. But you can’t be successful if you lie, you can’t be successful if you conceal and mislead people and you don’t take responsibility. That’s the issue,” said Pierson.
Since the crash, Boeing has been plagued with whistleblowers complaining of manufacturing issues, including in relation to a door-plug that flew out of a MAX-9 midflight in January. Boeing safety issues have also been the subject of a number of congressional hearings.