Indonesia: Situation of doomed Lion Air jet not in flight manual

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Indonesian investigators said on Monday more training was needed for Boeing 737 MAX pilots after discovering that the situation the crew of a doomed Lion Air jet faced was not contained in the aircraft's flight manual.

US pilots were also not aware of potential risks, two US pilot unions said.

The comments shed further light on the areas under scrutiny as investigators prepare to publish their preliminary report on November 28 or 29, one month after the Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX dived into the Java Sea, killing all 189 on board.

Until now, public attention has focused mainly on potential maintenance problems, including a faulty sensor for the "angle of attack," a vital piece of data needed to help the aircraft fly at the right angle to the currents of air and prevent a stall.

A worker assists his colleague during the lifting of a turbine engine of the Lion Air flight JT610 jet, at Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta, Indonesia, November 4, 2018. /VCG Photo

Now the investigation's focus appears to be expanding to the clarity of US-approved procedures to help pilots prevent the 737 MAX over-reacting to such a data loss, and methods for training them.

Dennis Tajer, a 737 captain and spokesman for Allied Pilots Association (APA), which represents American Airlines Group Inc pilots, said his union was informed after the crash about a new system Boeing had installed on 737 MAX jets that could command the plane's nose down in certain situations to prevent a stall.

“It is information that we were not privy to in training or in any other manuals or materials,” he said.

A US government official said Boeing is expected to unveil a software update to reduce the risks of the 737 MAX stall protection system, but said the timing is unclear.

Boeing declined to comment about a software update but said it was taking “every measure” to fully understand all aspects of the incident and working closely with the investigating team and all regulatory authorities involved.

Soerjanto Tjahjono, head of Indonesia's transportation safety committee of crash investigators (KNKT), said on Monday that Indonesian regulators would tighten training requirements as a result of the findings of the investigation so far.

Families of victims of Lion Air flight JT 610 throw flowers on deck of Indonesian Navy ship KRI Banjarmasin during visit and pray at the site of the crash, November 6, 2018. /VCG Photo

“We know, because this incident happened, we know we need additional training,” he said.

The comments focus attention on the contents of aircraft manuals and a conversion course allowing pilots of the previous generation of Boeing jet, the 737NG, to upgrade to the MAX.

The manual had not covered how to handle a situation like the one that occurred in the crash, Soerjanto told reporters.

Lion Air officials said on Monday that they had followed a training regime approved by both US and European regulators.

The approved training was restricted to three hours of computer-based training and a familiarization flight, Lion Air Training Centre general manager Dibyo Soesilo said during a media tour of the center on Monday.

The October 29 crash was the first accident involving the 737 MAX, an updated version of Boeing's workhorse narrowbody jet that entered service last year.

(Cover Photo: General Manager of Lion Air's Angkasa Training Center, Dibyo Soesilo, gestures as he explains the general training curriculum to the media at the airline group's training center near Jakarta, Indonesia, November 12, 2018. /VCG Photo)

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Source(s): Reuters