Investigators confirm Lion Air 737 MAX not airworthy prior to fatal crash

Indonesian investigators have confirmed that the Lion Air Boeing 737 Max jet was not in an airworthy condition the day before its fatal crash on October 29 which killed all 189 passengers and crew on board. They have released that on the flight from Bali to Jakarta on the October 28, the pilot had to shut down the plane’s anti-stall system before choosing to continue it flight. It has also been made clear to Lion Air that it must improve its safety culture and documentation of repair work carried out on its planes.

The transport safety agency has yet to pinpoint a specific cause for the crash and a full and final crash report is unlikely to be filed until next year. Its investigators have revealed that Lion Air kept returning the plane back into service despite a repeated failure to fix a problem with the airspeed indicator in the days leading up to the crash. These latest findings will heighten concerns there were problems with key systems in one of the world’s newest and most advanced commercial passenger planes.

It had previously been mentioned that the 737 MAX aircraft had problems with its airspeed indicator and angle of attack (AOA) sensors, after which Boeing issued a special bulletin advising operators on what actions to take in the event of a similar occurrence. An AOA sensor provides data which lets pilots know how much lift a plane is getting, information which can be critical in preventing an aircraft from stalling.