Lion Air may cancel Boeing orders in the wake of deadly crash
What caused Lion Air Flight 610 to drop out of the sky? The two-month-old Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashed into the Java Sea 13 minutes after takeoff from Jakarta, quickly experiencing erratic speed and altitude levels. The maker of the plane, Boeing, is now facing scrutiny that it might not have told pilots about safety warnings.
Indonesian airline Lion Air is considering canceling all of its remaining orders for Boeing jets in the wake of the fatal crash of a 737 model, Reuters reported on Monday.
As the investigation into what was directly responsible for the crash continues, the airline’s co-founder, Rusdi Kirana, believes the U.S. aerospace company is attempting to distract from recent design and technical procedure changes, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Lion Air has orders for 190 Boeing jets, worth $22 billion, according to Reuters.
A spokesperson for Boeing told FOX Business in a statement that the company it will continue to support its "valued customer through this very tough time."
"We are taking every measure to fully understand all aspects of this accident, and are working closely with the investigating team and all regulatory authorities involved," a Boeing spokesperson said.
Lion Air declined Reuters’ request for comment.
In the wake of the Lion Air crash in Indonesia – where 189 people were killed – the plane maker and the Federal Aviation Administration sent 737 Max operators a warning that incorrect readings from a flight-monitoring system can result in the jets abruptly diving – a function of its anti-stall system.
When the angle-of-attack sensors – which detect how wind is meeting the wing – perceive incorrect readings the plane may think it is experiencing an aerodynamic stall, causing it to dive.
Black box recordings showed Lion Air pilots struggled to keep the plane from nosediving over incorrect sensor readings from the moment the jet took off. Boeing previously said Lion Air Flight 610 experienced “erroneous input” from one of the sensors in question.
American Airlines said last month it was unaware of some functions of the jet – of which it currently has 16 in its fleet – until Boeing released the safety bulletin.
During an interview with FOX Business, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said the 737 Max jets are safe.