American plane maker, Boeing, said on Wednesday it would deploy a 737 MAX software “enhancement” across the fleet in the coming weeks incorporating feedback “received from our customers.”
In a statement today, the company said the United States Federal Aviation Administration (US-FAA) will also mandate the change in an airworthiness directive (AD) “no later than April.”
The statement comes following the aftermath of two 737 MAX 8 crashes in less than five months involving Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines aircraft respectively.
The development has triggered global outrage and concerns over the safety of the 737 Max family with civil aviation authorities in some countries grounding the fleet.
The U.K. Civil Aviation Authority said on Tuesday it banned all Boeing 737 MAX Aircraft planes from its airspace after the fatal Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed 157 people last weekend.
Other countries that have grounded the aircraft include China, Germany, France, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Indonesia, Turkey, Ireland, Australia, Ethiopia, South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore, Oman, Morocco and Mongolia.
The Oct. 29 crash of Lion Air flight 610 was linked to maintenance practices, erroneous speed data input and pilot confusion about the handling of the manoeuvring characteristics augmentation system (MCAS), a new flight control law introduced on the MAX.
“But that investigation is ongoing and there is no indication so far that MCAS played a role in the March 10 Ethiopian accident. Both the flight data and cockpit voice recorder have been recovered from the Ethiopian aircraft wreckage, but data analysis has yet to take place,” it said.
FAA stated on March 11 that “this investigation has just begun and to date we have not been provided data to draw any conclusions or take any actions.” The authority issued a Continued Airworthiness Notification to the International Community (CANIC).
According to Boeing, the enhancements include updates to “the MCAS flight control law, pilot displays, operation manuals and crew training. The enhanced flight control law incorporates angle of attack inputs, limits stabilizer trim commands in response to an erroneous angle of attack reading and provides a limit to the stabilizer command in order to retain elevator authority.”
Boeing said MCAS was initially introduced to improve handling characteristics and decrease pitch-up tendency “at elevated angles of attack” but not “in normal flight.”
The company explained that “the pilot will always be able to override the flight control law using electric trim or manual. In addition, it can be controlled through the use of the existing runaway stabilizer”.
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