Boeing "finalizing" MCAS software update following Ethiopia crash

(Photo: CGTN)

CHICAGO, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Boeing said Sunday it is finalizing a software update and pilot training revision related to MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System) in 737 Max, following two deadly air crashes in less than five months.

"Boeing is finalizing its development of a previously-announced software update and pilot training revision that will address the MCAS flight control law's behavior in response to erroneous sensor inputs," Dennis Muilenburg, president and CEO of the U.S. aircraft manufacturer, said in a statement.

Muilenburg's announcement came after Ethiopia's Transport Minister Dagmawit Moges said earlier Sunday that information recovered from the flight data recorder of the Ethiopian Airlines plane showed the March 10 crash which killed all 157 people on board had "clear similarities" with Lion Air's crash in Indonesia in October, which killed 189 people aboard. Both of the doomed planes were 737 Max 8.

The MCAS is an automated safety feature on the 737 Max designed to prevent the plane from entering into a stall, or losing lift. Some pilots had complained about unintended nose-down situations while flying the Max 8 jet, according to U.S. federal database.

There has been a global ban on flights of Boeing 737 Max following the Ethiopian Airlines crash. The United States grounded all 737 Max 8 and 9 on Wednesday amid mounting pressure.