The family of a Ugandan Police Commissioner Christine Alalo, who perished in a plane crash on March 10, is suing Aerospace Company Boeing and Ethiopian Airlines for negligence. Alalo was among the 157 passengers and crew who perished when Boeing 737 Max8 owned by Ethiopian Airlines crashed shortly after takeoff from Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa. She was travelling from Italy to Mogadishu, where she had been posted for service under the African Mission in Somalia. Alalo’s brother James Okello told the media on Tuesday afternoon that the family’s lawyer is putting their paperwork together to kick start the process. This will be one of the several other lawsuits filed by families across the world against Boeing, the manufacturers of 737 Max over unsatisfactory automated flight control systems which are suspected to be causing the crashes.
“We are suing all of them, the company and FAA that approved its [Boeing] flights. Our lawyers are handling it. They will make a decision later this week,” Okello said. In one of the lawsuits filed in a Chicago federal court, the family of Samya Stumo, one of the victims accuses Boeing, Ethiopian Airlines and Rosemount Aerospace, the company that made the aeroplane’s flight control system, for being negligent by allegedly allowing a faulty flight-control system for its 737 Max 8 aircraft. Recently, the Ethiopian Transport Minister Dagmawit Moges said preliminary findings from an investigation into the deadly crash show the aircraft had a valid certificate of airworthiness, the pilots were licensed and qualified to conduct the flight, and the plane’s takeoff appeared to be very normal. He added that as the jet began nose-diving, the pilots repeatedly performed all emergency procedures provided by Boeing, but they were not able to control the aircraft. As a result, Ethiopian safety investigators recommended that Boeing should review the aircraft flight control system of its new 737 Max 8 model. The new 737 MAX comes with new software called MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System), which didn’t exist on the previous generation of Boeing 737s. This was required because the aircraft had bigger engines than earlier models, providing up to 14 per cent savings in fuel consumption.
They are fitted further forward under the wings, which could potentially cause the plane to stall. In order to prevent this, Boeing engineers developed the new MCAS software. The software tells the flight control system to change its Angle of Attack (AOA) downward if a stall risk is perceived, which the computer initiates automatically. The pilots would have no chance to intervene even if the autopilot is switched off. According to a publication by airliner watch.com, this seems to be the problem. In the case of Lion Air flight of a 737 Max 8 plane that crashed into the Java Sea, a faulty sensor reportedly sent false Angle of Attack data and MCAS took control of the aircraft. The system concluded that the Angle of Attack of the plane was over 40 degrees and pushed the aircraft’s nose down, causing a sharp dive into the Java Sea. The crash claimed 189 lives. The initial data point out a similar situation in the case of Ethiopian Flight 302. It has been reported that the horizontal stabilizer of the aircraft found at the Ethiopian crash site was tilted upwards, which should have forced the nose of the aircraft down.
Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) observed, in a statement released early this month that the Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 accidents were caused by a chain of events, with a common chain link being erroneous activation of the aircraft’s maneuvering Characteristic Augmentation Systems-MCAS function. He added that Boeing had the responsibility to eliminate this risk, and as part of the effort, the company was making progress on the 737 MAX software update that will prevent accidents like these from ever happening again. “Safety is our responsibility, and we own it. When the MAX returns to the skies, we’ve promised our airline customers and their passengers and crews that it will be as safe as any aeroplane ever to fly,” he said adding that Boeing teams were working tirelessly, advancing and testing the software, conducting non-advocate reviews, and engaging regulators and customers worldwide. Boeing reportedly spent over USD 30 million about 112 billion Shillings in compensation for 189 passengers that perished in the Java Sea tragedy. For comments, call or text us on 0752510225.
