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Ethiopia has said Boeing must review the “controllability” of the 737 MAX 8 aircraft model and that aviation authorities should verify the flight control system was “adequately addressed” by the U.S. plane manufacturer.
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A Boeing 737 Max 8 plane killed all 157 people on board on March 10 just minutes into its flight from Addis Ababa to Nairobi. Speaking at a press conference Thursday, the Ethiopian Transport Minister, Dagmawit Moges, said she expected a final report on the crash within one year.
Boeing and the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority have suggested that the crash may have been avoided had pilots simply followed established safety procedures.
Moges outlined to reporters that the plane was deemed “airworthy” at take-off, the take-off itself was normal and the crew “performed all the procedures provided by the manufacturer but was not able to control the aircraft.”
The minister said the preliminary review recommended that Boeing should review the aircraft control systems of the 737 Max 8 before releasing the aircraft to operators. And that authorities should investigate if the flight control system was properly reviewed before that plane was released to airlines.
Ethiopia Airline released a statement on Twitter acknowledging the report and suggesting that it clearly showed that pilots were not to blame.
The statement read: “Despite their hard work and full compliance with the emergency procedures, it was very unfortunate that they could not recover the airplane from the persistence of nose diving.”
Boeing shares were up 2 percent in thin premarket trade on Thursday morning after the initial release, but quickly lost those gains to trade flat by 5:00 a.m. ET.
Questions over the Boeing plane have arisen amid similarities with the crash of a Lion Air 737 Max plane in Indonesia last October that killed 189 people.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.