Wikimedia Commons/LLBG Spotter/ CC BY-SA 2.0,
Boeing 737 MAX ET-AVJ. The aircraft operating Flight 302.
- Ethiopia's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) released its preliminary report on the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302 on Thursday.
- The report presented data which shows that faulty readings from a malfunctioning angle-of-attack (AOA) sensor triggered the Boeing 737 Max's Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) that is designed to automatically push the nose of the plane downward.
- The preliminary report did not assign causation for the crash, and a final report is expected at a later date.
- The report also gave us a glimpse inside the cockpit of the ill-fated flight with a detailed breakdown of the actions of and the communications between the pilots.
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On Thursday, Ethiopia's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) released its preliminary report on the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302. The crash, which took place on March 10, marked the second fatal crash of a nearly brand-new Boeing 737 Max airliner since October and precipitated the grounding of the global 737 Max fleet.
The AIB's initial findings present data from the crashed plane's flight-data recorder (FDR), which shows that faulty readings from a malfunctioning angle-of-attack (AOA) sensor triggered the 737 Max's Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) that is designed to automatically push the nose of the plane downward.
Read more: FAA expects Boeing to come up with new software to fix the grounded 737 Max in a matter of weeks.
"Shortly after liftoff, the value of the left angle of attack sensor deviated from the right one and reached 74.5 degrees while the right angle of attack sensor value was 15.3 degrees," the report said.
The preliminary report did not assign causation for the crash, and a final report is expected at a later date.
In its preliminary report, the AIB also gave the public a glimpse inside the cockpit of the ill-fated flight with a detailed breakdown of the actions and the communications between the flight crew.
Here's a closer look at how Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302 unfolded.
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