The crew of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 followed procedures from Boeing but could not stop the plane from repeatedly nose-diving and ultimately crashing last month, killing all 157 people on board, Ethiopian officials said Thursday.

Presenting the preliminary report into the crash, Ethiopian Transport Minister Dagmawit Moges told reporters in Addis Ababa that "the crew performed all the procedures repeatedly provided by the manufacturer but was not able to control the aircraft."

Hours later, Boeing Company CEO Dennis Muilenburg conceded that it was a software error that caused the 737 Max jets to crash, but he noted that most aviation accidents are "caused by a chain of events."

"With the release of the preliminary report of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 accident investigation, it's apparent that in both flights the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, known as MCAS, activated in response to erroneous angle of attack information," he said in a statement.

"It's our responsibility to eliminate this risk. We own it and we know how to do it," he added.

The preliminary report by Ethiopian officials said they could not yet determine whether there was a structural problem with the aircraft, based on data retrieved from the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder.

Moges said the Boeing 737 Max 8 had a valid certificate of airworthiness, the crew had necessary qualifications and takeoff appeared to be normal.

"Since repetitive uncommanded aircraft nose down conditions are noticed ... it is recommend that the aircraft control system shall be reviewed by the manufacturer," Moges said.

"Despite [the pilots'] 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," Ethiopian Airlines wrote in a statement on Thursday.

Boeing said it will "carefully review" the investigation's findings.

"I'd like to reiterate our deepest sympathies are with the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives in the accident," Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Kevin McAllister said in an emailed statement. "We thank Ethiopia's Accident Investigation Bureau for its hard work and continuing efforts. Understanding the circumstances that contributed to this accident is critical to ensuring safe flight."

Officials said "additional documents" gathered from the operator and aviation authorities, as well as remnants collected at the accident site, were also used in the preliminary report's conclusion.

The full report into the crash will be released within a year, Moges said. She added that an international team investigating the crash includes the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration in the U.S., France's BEA and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.

The Ethiopian Airlines jet crashed minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa on March 10, just months after an earlier crash of a Lion Air jet in Indonesia of the same model plane. Ethiopian officials had previously said readings from black box data showed "clear" similarities between the two flights.

As NPR's Russell Lewis has reported, the similarities involve an anti-stall system on both jets, the MCAS, designed to push the nose of the plane down if flight control systems sense a problem with low air speed. Both the planes appeared to ascend and descend erratically, suggesting the pilots struggled to maintain control.

The two crashes killed a combined 346 people and led to Max 8 being grounded in dozens of countries across the world, including the United States.

Boeing continues to work on a software fix for its flight control systems, which was initially slated to be submitted to the FAA last week. But the FAA said in a statement on Monday that it now expects Boeing's submission in the coming weeks.

"Time is needed for additional work by Boeing as the result of an ongoing review of the 737 MAX Flight Control System to ensure that Boeing has identified and appropriately addressed all pertinent issues," the FAA wrote.

In Boeing's statement, the company did not indicate when the update will be released but said that it "adds additional layers of protection and will prevent erroneous data from causing MCAS activation."

Daniel Elwell, acting head of the FAA, in testimony before a Senate committee last week, defended the agency's decision to ground the plane days after most other countries had already done so, as well as the FAA's process for reviewing changes to plane design.

"The FAA is directly involved in the testing and certification of new and novel features and technologies," he said in his opening remarks.

Last month, The Seattle Times reported that an analysis Boeing delivered to the Federal Aviation Administration regarding the safety of MCAS "had several crucial flaws." Anonymous sources inside the FAA told the Times that the agency inappropriately delegated the airplane's certification to Boeing employees.

Boeing told the Times there were "significant mischaracterizations" in its description of flaws in the analysis. </s> The Ethiopian government on Thursday briefed newsmen on the initial findings of its investigation into the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302.

Concise News reports that both the government and the airline says the Ethiopian authorities preliminary report shows that the doomed jet’s crew followed the guidance provided by Boeing on how to fly the plane.

They also used its flight control systems, heaping the blame largely on the manufacturer.

“The March 10 crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 killed all 157 passengers and crew on the Boeing 737 Max 8 jet.

“Data has shown significant similarities between the crash and the Lion Air disaster in October when the same model of the plane crashed soon after take-off.

“All Boeing Max jets have been grounded worldwide as the investigations continue.

“Ethiopian officials say the pilots followed instructions provided by Boeing.

“Ethiopian Airlines says the initial report clearly showed its pilots followed the guidance provided by Boeing and approved by the FAA,’’ the report says.

Aviation authorities around the world grounded Boeing 737 MAX aircraft after the Ethiopian Airlines crash on March 10 left 157 people dead. Nigeria’s Professor Pius Adesanmi was among the dead.

The same Boeing model was involved in a Lion Air plane crash in Indonesia in October that killed 189 people.

Data from the black box of the Ethiopian jet show similarities between the two crashes. </s> The preliminary investigation into the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 shows that the pilots "repeatedly performed" all the procedures recommended by Boeing on how to handle the anti-stall system, the Ethiopian government has said.

Ethiopia’s minister for transport, Dagmawit Moges, released the preliminary findings at a press conference in Addis Ababa today. She added that the “take-off appeared very normal” but the crew was unable to regain control of the airplane despite following Boeing’s recommended procedures.
• The report also showed that the pilots of the ill-fated aircraft had the licence and qualifications to handle the flight.
• On Wednesday, the reported that the pilots switched off the anti-stall system and then cranked a manual wheel before switching back to the usual electric trim.
• The investigation chairman, Amdeye Ayalew, said that the investigators had not found any design problem or foreign object damage. He said: “Is there a structural design problem? We cannot predict right now.”

Ethiopian Airlines reacted to the report saying: “Despite their hard work and full compliance with the emergency procedures, it is very unfortunate that they could not recover the airplane from the persistence of nose diving.”
• CEO Tewolde GebreMariam added that the airline was “very proud of our pilots’ compliances to follow the emergency procedures and high level of professional performances in such extremely difficult situations”.

The Ethiopian government recommended that the manufacturer (Boeing) review the aircraft control system, and that aviation authorities review the same issues of controllability and ensure they are “adequately addressed” before allowing the Boeing 737 Max-8 to fly again.
• Although the preliminary report has not been published yet, the information from the press conference is likely to pile pressure on Boeing and the FAA to solve the issue effectively. While Boeing says it has solved the problem, the new software update still has not received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.
• It is also likely to influence the lawsuits being filed against the manufacturer and the airline. </s> Boeing says it will review the preliminary investigation report on the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 by the Ethiopian Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) released on Thursday in Addis Ababa.

A statement by Boeing Commercial Airplanes’ President and CEO, Kevin McAllister, on Thursday, said that understanding the circumstances that contributed to the accident was critical to ensuring safe flight.

According to McAllister, “we will carefully review the AIB’s preliminary report and will take any and all additional steps necessary to enhance the safety of our aircraft.”

He said that safety was a core value for everyone at Boeing and the safety of its airplanes, customers, passengers and crews was always a top priority.

“Boeing’s technical experts continue to assist in this investigation and company-wide teams are working to address lessons from the Lion Air Flight 610 accident in October.

“The preliminary report contains flight data recorder information indicating the airplane had an erroneous angle of attack sensor input that activated the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) function during the flight, as it had during the Lion Air 610 flight.

“To ensure unintended MCAS activation will not occur again, Boeing has developed and is planning to release a software update to MCAS and an associated comprehensive pilot training and supplementary education program for the 737 MAX.

“As previously announced the update adds additional layers of protection and will prevent erroneous data from causing MCAS activation.

“Flight crews will always have the ability to override MCAS and manually control the airplane,” he said.

McAllister said that Boeing would continue to work with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and other regulatory agencies worldwide on the development and certification of the software update and training program.

He added that the manufacturer would also continue to work closely with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) as technical advisors in support of the Ethiopian AIB investigation.

According to him, as a party providing technical assistance under the direction of investigating authorities, Boeing is prevented by international protocol and NTSB regulations from disclosing any information relating to the investigation.

“In accordance with international protocol, information about the investigation is provided only by investigating authorities in charge.

“I will like to reiterate that our deepest sympathies are with the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives in the accident.

“We thank the Ethiopia’s Accident Investigation Bureau for its hard work and continuing efforts,” he said.

Ethiopian Airlines had on Thursday disclosed in its preliminary report, that the pilots of the ill-fated aircraft followed instructions that Boeing recommended and FAA approved emergency procedures to handle the most difficult emergency situation created on the airplane. </s> April 3 (Reuters) - Ethiopian authorities will deliver their first report on the crash of Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. local time (0730 GMT), a source told Reuters.

Some 35 nationalities were among the 157 passengers and crew who died when the new Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane crashed just 6 minutes after take-off from the capital Addis Ababa in clear conditions.

The March 10 disaster was the second crash of a MAX 8 in five months and has prompted the worldwide grounding of Boeing's best-selling plane. </s> The Ethiopian government has published its preliminary report into the plane crash that killed all 157 people on board last month. It was the second crash involving a Boeing 737 Max in five months. The report found that the crew on the Ethiopian Airlines flight followed all the procedures provided by Boeing, but still weren't able to control the plane. It crashed after take-off from Addis Ababa. Boeing is developing system reforms to submit to regulators for approval. Still, no airlines are taking delivery of new 737 Max planes right now.

Click the audio player above to hear the full story. </s> The head of Indonesia's national transport safety agency says it will offer to assist the Ethiopian investigation into the crash of a Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane.

The same model of plane, operated by Lion Air, crashed in Indonesia in October, killing all 189 people on board. Like the Ethiopian Airlines crash on Sunday, which killed 157 people, the Lion Air jet had erratic speed in the few minutes it was in the air.

Soerjanto Tjahjono, chairman of the National Safety Transportation Board, said Monday that Indonesia can be a party to Ethiopia's investigation because one of its citizens was among those who died in the crash.

He said, "However, we will also offer to assist the investigation process." </s> Ethiopia's Ministry of Transport Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau released (03-Apr-2019) its preliminary investigation into the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, a Boeing 737 MAX (ET-AVJ28) which crashed southeast of Addis Ababa Bole International Airport on 10-Mar-2019. Initial findings include:
• The aircraft possessed a valid certificate of airworthiness, the crew had obtained the necessary licenses and qualifications to conduct the flight;
• The takeoff roll appeared normal, including normal values of left and right angle-of-attack (AOA);
• Shortly after liftoff, the value of the left angle of attack sensor deviated from the right one and reached 74.5 degrees while the right angle of attack sensor value was 15.3 degrees then after. The stick shaker activated and remained active until near the end of the flight;
• After autopilot engagement, there were small amplitude roll oscillations accompanied by lateral acceleration, rudder oscillations and slight heading changes; these oscillations also continued after the autopilot disengaged;
• After the autopilot disengaged, the flight data recorder (FDR) shows an automatic aircraft nose down (AND) trim command four times without pilot's input. As a result, three motions of the stabiliser trim were recorded. The FDR data also indicated that the crew utilised the electric manual trim to counter the automatic AND input;
• The crew performed runaway stabiliser checklist and put the stab trim cutout switch to cutout position and confirmed that the manual trim operation was not working;
• Initial safety actions taken:
• Ethiopian Airlines decided to suspend operation of 737 MAX the day of the accident.
• The Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority issued a NOTAM on 14-Mar-2019 regarding operation of the 737 MAX 8 and MAX 9 aircraft from, into or over the Ethiopian airspace, which is still active;
• 
• Since repetitive un-commanded aircraft nose down conditions are noticed in this preliminary investigation, it is recommended that the aircraft flight control system related to flight controllability shall be reviewed by the manufacturer;
• Aviation authorities shall verify that the review of the aircraft flight control system related to flight controllability has been adequately addressed by the manufacturer before the release of the aircraft to operations. [more - original PR] </s> EJERE, Ethiopia (AP) — Authorities in Ethiopia, China and Indonesia grounded all Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft Monday following the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines jetliner that killed 157 people, and investigators found the flight recorders from the field where the plane went down.

The new plane crashed shortly after takeoff in clear weather outside Addis Ababa on Sunday, and the airline decided to ground its remaining four 737 Max 8s until further notice as “an extra safety precaution,” spokesman Asrat Begashaw said. Ethiopian Airlines had been using five of the planes and awaiting delivery of 25 more.

As Ethiopia observed a day of mourning, Red Cross workers slowly picked through the widely scattered debris near the blackened crash crater, looking for the remains of those aboard, while heavy machinery dug for larger pieces of the plane.

Wreckage is piled at the scene of the crashed Ethiopian Airlines flight. (AP Photo/Mulugeta Ayene)

The plane’s flight data and cockpit voice recorders were found, Ethiopian Airlines said. An airline official, however, said one of the recorders was partially damaged and “we will see what we can retrieve from it.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity for lack of authorization to speak to the media.

Ethiopian authorities are leading the investigation into the crash, assisted by the U.S., Kenya and others.

Sunday’s crash was strikingly similar to that of a Lion Air jet of the same Boeing model in Indonesian seas last year, killing 189 people. The crash was likely to renew questions about the 737 Max 8, the newest version of Boeing’s popular single-aisle airliner, which was first introduced in 1967 and has become the world’s most common passenger jet.

Safety experts cautioned against drawing too many comparisons between the two crashes until more is known about the disaster. Besides the groundings in China and Indonesia, Caribbean carrier Cayman Airways temporarily grounded their Max 8s.

People from 35 countries died in the crash six minutes after the plane took off from Ethiopia’s capital for Nairobi. Ethiopian Airlines said the senior pilot issued a distress call and was told to return but all contact was lost shortly afterward. The plane plowed into the ground at Hejere near Bishoftu, scattering debris like a shredded book, a battered passport and business cards in multiple languages.

A passenger passport lies on the ground at the scene of an Ethiopian Airlines flight crash near Bishoftu, or Debre Zeit, south of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Monday, March 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Mulugeta Ayene)

“I heard this big noise,” resident Tsegaye Reta told the AP. “The villagers said that it was a plane crash, and we rushed to the site. There was a huge smoke that we couldn’t even see the plane. The parts of the plane were falling apart.”

Kenya lost 32 people, more than any country. Relatives of 25 of the victims had been contacted, Macharia said, and taking care of their welfare was of utmost importance.

“Some of them, as you know, they are very distressed,” he said. “They are in shock like we are. They are grieving.”

In Addis Ababa, members of an association of Ethiopian airline pilots cried uncontrollably for their dead colleagues. Framed photos of seven crew members sat in chairs at the front of a crowded room.

Canada, Ethiopia, the U.S., China, Italy, France, Britain, Egypt, Germany, India and Slovakia all lost four or more citizens.

Leaders of the United Nations, the U.N. refugee agency and the World Food Program said colleagues had been on the plane. The U.N. migration agency estimated that 19 U.N.-affiliated employees were killed.

Both Addis Ababa and Nairobi are major hubs for humanitarian workers, and some had been on their way to a large U.N. environmental conference set to begin Monday in Nairobi. The U.N. flag at the event flew at half-staff.

The crash shattered more than two years of relative calm in African skies, where travel had long been chaotic. It also was a serious blow to the Ethiopian Airlines, which has expanded to become the continent’s largest and best-managed carrier and turned Addis Ababa into the gateway to Africa.

Members of the Ethiopian community take part in a special prayer for the victims of the Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302 crash, at the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church of Canada Saint Mary Cathedral in Toronto, on Sunday, March 10, 2019. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

The state-owned carrier has a good reputation and the company’s CEO told reporters no problems were seen before Sunday’s fight. But investigators also will look into the plane’s maintenance, which may have been an issue in the Lion Air crash.

The plane was delivered to Ethiopian Airlines in November. The jet’s last maintenance was on Feb. 4, and it had flown just 1,200 hours.

China’s Civil Aviation Administration said that it ordered airlines to ground all 737 Max 8 aircraft as of 6 p.m. (1000 GMT) Monday, in line with the principle of “zero tolerance for security risks.”

It said it would issue further notices after consulting with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing.

China Southern Airlines is one of Boeing’s biggest customers for the aircraft.

Chicago-based Boeing said it did not intend to issue any new guidance to its customers. It plans to send a technical team to the crash site to help Ethiopian and U.S. investigators, however, and issued a statement saying it was “deeply saddened to learn of the passing of the passengers and crew” on the Ethiopian Airlines Max airplane.

This photo taken on Feb. 11, 2019 shows an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-800 parked at an airport in Ethiopia. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

The 737 is the best-selling airliner in history, and the Max, the newest version of it with more fuel-efficient engines, is a central part of Boeing’s strategy to compete with European rival Airbus.

“Safety is our No. 1 priority and we are taking every measure to fully understand all aspects of this accident, working closely with the investigating team and all regulatory authorities involved,” the company said in a statement.
The Ethiopian government releases a preliminary report on the investigation into the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302.