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Too Broke to Find Out Why 200 Died on the 737 Max
Jennifer Billock December 22, 2018
Six weeks after the crash, an investigation into the Lion Air accident that killed 189 people has stalled thanks to a lack of money; the investigators in Indonesia say they need a specialized ship to recover the cockpit voice recorder that was in the aircraft, and it’s just too expensive to rent one.
Six weeks ago, a new Boeing 737 MAX flying with Indonesia’s Lion Air crashed into the Java Sea, killing all 189 passengers and crew on the plane. And although the flight data recorder was recovered quickly, investigators have yet to obtain the cockpit voice recorder. As a result, the investigation into the crash has been put on hold.
Investigators blame a lack of money for not finding the cockpit voice recorder. They say a specialized ship is needed to find it in the sea, and it’s just too expensive to get one.
“We don’t have further funds to rent the ship,” one of the investigators told Reuters, reported by AV Web.
The recorder may hold the answer to exactly what caused the plane to crash. Initial reports from the flight data show that a stall protection system built into the plane, called MCAS for Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, was working just before the flight went down. With the voice recorder, investigators will be able to see how the crew was reacting to the system. It appeared to have faulty sensors.
In response to Boeing’s reaction to the crash, which Lion Air says is insufficient, the airline is cancelling $22 billion worth of orders from the company.
To the contrary... it's REALLY easy to know why Boeing doesn't want to know why their plane crashed. Right now, Boeing can claim that the cause of the accident was the same cause of 90% of other aviation accidents. Pilot error. Boeing has nothing to gain from them finding the cockpit voice recorder, and everything to lose.
I'm surprised that Boeing aren't interested in finding out why their plane crashed
I can't say I'm surprised, but wouldn't Lion Air want to know the exact cause at any cost? Either A) to stay safe in the future or B) to be able to sue Boeing for something faulty, or undisclosed? Also, I don't mean to be glib about the whole thing, but I'm a little bit surprised that a country that is almost entirely comprised of islands doesn't have whatever ship needed at it's disposal. I would assume the Philippines would have one as well.
Let's hope Airbus isn't so desperate to take the order.
There seem to be parallels between this crash and the Asiana crash at SFO a few years back. In both cases it would appear that the flight crews did not understand the aircraft systems. There is a word for that: incompetent. MCAS can be deactivated by a switch. How hard is that? In the case of Asiana the incompetent crew did not understand throttle control. As for Lion Air, maybe they should spend their money training their pilots.