Ethiopian crew’s voices may unlock high-stakes Boeing inquiry
Ethiopian investigators have the crew’s last dialogue as airlines make contingency plans with more than $500bn worth of orders on hold
Addis Ababa/Paris — On Tuesday, the investigation into the final minutes of Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 turned to the secrets in the cockpit voice recorder as Boeing and a shaken global aviation industry hung on the outcome. The voices of captain Yared Getachew and first officer Ahmednur Mohammed could reveal what led to the March 10 crash of the Boeing 737 MAX that has worrying parallels with another disaster involving the same model off Indonesia in October. The twin disasters killed 346 people. Black box data was downloaded in France but only Ethiopian experts leading the probe have heard the dialogue between Getachew and Mohammed. The data was back in Addis Ababa on Tuesday, sources familiar with the probe told Reuters. Experts believe a new automated system in Boeing’s flagship MAX fleet — intended to stop stalling by dipping the nose — may have played a role in both crashes, with pilots unable to override it as their jets plunged downwards. Both came down just minutes after ...
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