Speiser Krause in the News and Recent Developments

The Ethiopian Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau released its Preliminary Report in connection with the ongoing investigation into the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302.  A copy of the Preliminary Report can be found here. 

The Report raises serious issues with Boeing’s design of the 737 Max fleet, especially with respect to the aircraft’s ability to interpret and properly process airspeed information, the aircraft’s angle of attack sensors and the automatic anti-stall system known as the M.C.A.S.  Indeed, given the similarities between the two recent 737 Max aircraft tragedies, namely that improper airspeed indications, angle of attack sensors and the M.C.A.S. played a role in each crash, we believe that the aircraft must remain grounded until the “fixes” proposed by Boeing are thoroughly vetted and undergo stringent independent analysis to ensure that no tragedy like this ever occurs again.  Further, we feel it is important to fully investigate and analyze Boeing’s role in the certification process that allowed these defects to make their way to the flying public.

In the wake of the crashes of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 and Lion Air Flight 610, the United States Department of Justice has opened a potential criminal investigation concerning the manner in which the fleet of Boeing 737-8 and 737-9 Max aircraft (the “737 Max aircraft”) was certified.  On Monday, April 1, 2019, a federal grand jury served a subpoena on a former Boeing flight control engineer seeking all documentation related to the 737 Max aircraft.  This was at least the second federal grand jury subpoena issued in the context of the criminal probe. 

On Wednesday, March 13, 2019, the United States and Canada each issued emergency orders grounding the fleet of Boeing 737-8 and 737-9 Max aircraft (the “737 Max aircraft”).  A copy of the FAA’s Emergency Order can be found here.  The emergency order permits those aircraft currently in the air to proceed to landing at their intended destinations but once the aircraft has landed, they will not be allowed to engage in further flight until aviation authorities lift the emergency orders.  The air carrier, however, may apply for non-passenger special ferry flight permits to move the aircraft for storage, modification, testing or maintenance.

In the aftermath of the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, numerous aviation authorities throughout the world have called into question the safety of the 737 Max 8 model aircraft.  Although the Federal Aviation Administration and The Boeing Company have issued statements attesting to the aircraft’s safety, foreign aviation authorities are justifiably concerned that the crash of Ethiopian Flight 302 and Lion Air Flight 610 share a common causal connection.  As a result, various foreign countries, and airlines, have grounded the 737 Max 8 fleet until more information is known regarding the causes of each crash.  China, Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, India and the European Union have each banned the 737 Max 8 aircraft from operating within its borders or airspace.  A copy of the Emergency Airworthiness Directive issued by the European Union prohibiting the 737 Max 8 aircraft from operating in Europe can be found here.  In fact, the only two governments continuing to allow the aircraft to operate within their borders or airspace are the United States and Canada.

On March 10, 2018 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed six minutes after take-off, tragically killing all 157 passengers and crew.  The flight departed from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport in Ethiopia bound for Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya.  Citizens from at least 32 different countries were on board, and many were employees of the United Nations who were travelling to Kenya to participate in an environmental conference. 

Indonesian authorities released a preliminary report regarding their findings into the crash of Lion Air Flight 610.  As mentioned in prior posts, early reports indicated that accident investigators were focusing on the aircraft’s new Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (M.C.A.S.) which is an automated system designed to prevent the aircraft from entering an aerodynamic stall.  The preliminary report confirmed that this was the investigators’ focus, although the report stated that it was still too early to identify a specific cause for the crash.

Although no official findings have yet to be released, Indonesian aviation authorities are focusing on the aircraft’s automatic system designed to prevent the 737 Max 8 aircraft from entering an aerodynamic stall.  The system, not found on predecessor 737 models, is known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System or M.C.A.S.  The system works in conjunction with Angle of Attack sensors located in the fuselage of the aircraft.  These sensors measure the angle of the aircraft in relation to the air that comes across it.  If these sensors indicate that the angle of attack or AOA is too high, they will transmit this information to the M.C.A.S. which will cause the forward edge stabilizers located on the aircraft’s tail to push up thereby forcing the nose of the aircraft downward.  If the M.C.A.S. did in fact engage as a result of faulty information transmitted by the aircraft’s AOA sensors, the pilots would have been confronted with a situation for which they were not trained and would have required them to rapidly engage in a series of steps to take control of the aircraft away from the M.C.A.S.  If they attempted to simply raise the nose of the aircraft by pulling back on the control yoke – which likely would have been the flight crew’s natural reaction – this would have had little effect as the forces exerted by the M.C.A.S. are much greater than the pilot could muster through pulling back on the control yoke.  Instead, the pilots would have had to quickly respond with a number of actions for which they had received no training in order to regain control of the aircraft and disable the M.C.A.S.

On October 29, 2018, Lion Air Flight 610 crashed shortly after take-off killing all 189 passengers and crew.  Flight 610 was a scheduled domestic flight from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta to Depati Amir Airport in Pangkal Pinang that should have taken a little over an hour.  The aircraft, a relatively new Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, Registration Number PK-LQP, crashed approximately 11 minutes after take-off due to a steep uncontrolled descent into the Java Sea off the coast of Java. 

On Saturday, June 2, 2018 at approximately 2:35 p.m. a twin engine Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftan aircraft, bearing FAA registration number N41173, crashed approximately two miles off the shore of Indian Wells Beach near Amagansett, New York.  Tragically, three passengers and the pilot were killed in the crash.  One of the passengers was identified as the registered owner of the aircraft.

On Thursday, May 3, 2018 the National Transportation Safety Board issued an update in connection with its ongoing investigation concerning the fatal mid-air Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 engine failure.  The Investigative update can be found here.