Have investigators reached a preliminary conclusion? officials close to confirming the lead theory why the Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max crashed

Officials investigating the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max crash have reportedly reached a preliminary conclusion that the plane’s automated anti-stall system activated during the disaster.

A fault in the plane’s software has been the most widely-discussed theory for the Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed 189 people in March, and also the Lion Air 737 Max crash that killed 157 people in October 2018.

People briefed on the preliminary conclusions told The Wall Street Journal that the plane’s Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), which is designed to automatically stop the plane from stalling by pointing the nose of the plane downward, automatically activated during the fatal flight.

The preliminary findings, reached through an analysis of the plane’s black box, is subject to change, people briefed on the matter told the Journal. They were shared at a high-level briefing at the Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday.

The preliminary report for the Lion Air crash also found that the MCAS system repeatedly pushed the nose of the plane down, leaving the pilot wrestling with the controls as it crashed into the sea.

Ethiopia’s Transport Minister said earlier this month that data from the black boxes of both planes show “clear similarities.”

Boeing unveiled a software fix and new training procedures for the 737 Max on Wednesday in a bid to fix the planes, which have been grounded around the world after the two deadly crashes.

Most of the updates are to the MCAS system, which is triggered by the plane’s angle-of-attack (AOA) sensor, which measures the plane’s orientation in the air.

The updated software will “provide additional layers of protection if the AOA sensors provide erroneous data.”

Boeing said that the software updates have been put through hundreds of hours of analysis, laboratory tests, and simulator trials, as well as two test flights.

Boeing is still working with the FAA to get the software and training updates certified, and the EU and Canada are also conducting their own reviews to the upgrades. The planes will remain grounded until this certification takes place and pilot training is complete.

The acting head of the FAA told Congress on Wednesday that Boeing was allowed to oversee much of the certification of its software itself, as part of a longstanding policy mandated by Congress that is now under increased scrutiny.

Daniel Elwell defended the process, and said that FAA had initially overseen the software’s certification before backing off. He said more authority was given to Boeing when it had “the comfort level” that the manufacturer could oversee the system.

But one lawmaker accused the FAA of doing “safety on the cheap” and an internal watchdog said the current system will change and said the FAA’s certification of the 737 Max will be investigated.

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