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, and the FAA issued an emergency directive, warning of a potential angle of attack (AOA) system fault that could cause a violent nose-down pitch, even during manual flight.
- This warning follows the recent fatal Lion Air flight 610 crash, with investigators examining the AOA issue as a potential cause, though other factors are still being considered.
- The concern centers on erroneous AOA data that could cause the aircraft's stabilizing trim to pitch down for up to 10 seconds or lead to pilot misinterpretation of flight instrument indications.
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