Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg on Thursday apologized for the 346 lives lost in crashes of Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft in Indonesia and Ethiopia while acknowledging the role of the company's flight-control system in the two accidents. 

"We at Boeing are sorry for the lives lost in the recent 737 MAX accidents," Muilenburg said in a video statement released on the company's website.

The ill-fated 737 MAX aircraft of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 (ET 302), which crashed in Ethiopia and killed all 157 people aboard on March 10, was of the same model as the Indonesia Lion Air Flight 610 that crashed in October last year. The two crashes killed a total of 346 people.

He acknowledged for the first time that bad data feeding into an anti-stall system, known as MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System) on the 737 Max jet caused the crashes.

The apology came after a preliminary investigation report on the Ethiopian Airlines crash showed that the pilots followed required procedures, but could not control the jet, pointing at potential problems of the aircraft's flight control system.

Simply speaking, the MCAS system can automatically lower the plane's nose to prevent engine-stalling in certain circumstances. The preliminary report didn't specifically blame the MCAS but did mention that the doomed Ethiopian Airlines jet had repeatedly nose-dived before the crash. 

"The full details of what happened in the two accidents will be issued by the government authorities in the final reports, but, 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," the CEO said. 

"It's our responsibility to eliminate this risk. We own it and we know how to do it," he said, pledging to take necessary measures to eliminate all risks that may impact flight safety.

"We're taking a comprehensive, disciplined approach, and taking the time, to get the software update right. We're nearing completion and anticipate its certification and implementation on the 737 MAX fleet worldwide in the weeks ahead," he added.

Boeing said it is planning to release a software update to MCAS and an associated comprehensive pilot training and supplementary education program for the 737 MAX.

The software update will offer additional layers of protection, prevent erroneous data from causing MCAS activation and enable flight crews to override MCAS and manually control the airplane, said the company.

Boeing has been under strong pressure amid mounting concern about the safety of its 737 MAX aircraft after the two crashes.  

The investigators have recommended that Boeing review and correct the flight control unit and for other authorities to confirm changes made before the grounded 737 Max 8s can fly again. 

The Ethiopian government is preparing to take legal action against the U.S. manufacturer.

(With inputs from Xinhua)