US Issues Emergency Order On 250 Boeing 737 Max After Lion Air Crash - Aviation Agency

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th November, 2018) The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued an emergency directive on 246 Boeing 737 Max aircraft around the world following the crash of an Indonesia Lion Air aircraft, the agency said in a press release.

"The FAA has issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (AD) that addresses possible erroneous angle of attack (AOA) inputs on Boeing 737 Max aircraft," the release said on Wednesday. "Current affected aircraft are 246 worldwide, with 45 of these in the US among Southwest, American and United."

The aviation agency explained that the erroneous inputs in these aircraft can potentially make the horizontal stabilizers repeatedly pitch the nose of the airplane downward, making the aircraft difficult to control.

The directive is effective immediately and operators have three days to revise the airplane flight manual in order to give flight crews horizontal stabilizer trim procedures to follow under certain conditions, the agency added.

The FAA continues to work closely with Boeing and participates in the investigation of the Indonesia Lion Air accident, the release said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Boeing issued a safety bulletin for operators of its 737 MAX aircraft, warning them about potentially incorrect data provided by the aircraft's angle of attack sensors, which are responsible for showing how the airplane's nose is pointed and may erroneously command an abrupt dive.

Lion Air Flight JT610, en route to the Indonesian city of Pangkal Pinang, lost contact with air traffic control on October 29 shortly after departing from Jakarta. The plane later fell into the Java Sea, killing all 189 people on board.