Ethiopian Airlines and Lion Air didn’t pay extra for Boeing’s “upgrades” on communications, navigation, and safety features, so Boeing didn’t warn them that the planes were prone to sensor malfunctions that would send them crashing into the ground.
The two Boeing (BA -0.9%) MAX 737 jets that crashed lacked two safety features in their cockpits because the company charged extra to install them.
The doomed Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines flights were brand new but not equipped with an angle of attack indicator or an angle of attack disagree light, according to the report.
The angle of attack indicator determines how much the plane’s nose is tilted, and the disagree light is activated if the jet’s sensors are giving contradictory signals; Boeing will now make the disagree light free of charge on all new 737 Max planes, but the angle of attack indicator will remain an option that airlines can purchase, the report says.
Neither safety feature was required by the FAA, but “they’’e critical, and cost almost nothing for the airlines to install,” says aviation analyst Bjorn Fehrm. “Boeing charges for them because it can. But they’re vital for safety.”