Boeing Company today published an update to the flight crew operations manual for its 737 Max 8, warning of a possible fault in the aircraft’s angle of attack system that could cause the aircraft to violently pitch nose down, according to the FAA. The AOA measures the angular difference between the direction the aircraft is moving and the pitch of the aircraft’s wing. The agency followed the ops manual update with an emergency airworthiness directive against the aircraft, warning operators the pitch-over threat exists even when the aircraft is being hand flown by pilots. The agency said operators have less than 30 days to comply with the AD.
FAA Issues Emergency Airworthiness Directive Against Boeing 737 Max 8
Key Takeaways:
- Boeing updated its 737 Max 8 flight manual warning of an Angle of Attack (AOA) system fault that could cause the aircraft to pitch nose down.
- The FAA issued an emergency airworthiness directive (AD) for the 737 Max 8, confirming the pitch-over threat even when hand-flown and requiring operator compliance within 30 days.
- This emergency warning follows the recent Lion Air flight 610 crash, a 737 Max 8, though investigators have not yet definitively linked the AOA issue as the sole cause of the accident.
- Concerns focus on incorrect AOA data potentially causing the aircraft to pitch over on its own or leading the cockpit crew to misinterpret erroneous flight instrument indications.
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