Ethiopian Airlines Installed Max 8 Simulator, but Pilot on Doomed Flight Didn’t Get Training – The New York Times

The pilots on the doomed Lion Air flight did not appear to understand why the jet was tipping downward and how to correct that problem. One flipped through a technical manual, and the other began to pray, according to the cockpit voice recording.

An investigation is still underway to determine what caused the crash in Ethiopia. A possible fault in the MCAS system is part of the inquiry, and the authorities in Ethiopia have said that a preliminary review of the “black boxes” — voice recording and flight data — revealed similarities to the Indonesian crash.

But experts have cautioned that any conclusions at this stage of an investigation are preliminary and could change.

On Wednesday in Washington, the F.A.A. published a notification to regulators in other countries reiterating that Boeing was preparing a software upgrade for the 737 Max along with training to accompany the updated software.

The F.A.A. said its review of the new software and training was “an agency priority, as will be the rollout of any software, training or other measures to operators of the 737 Max.”

The message from the F.A.A. did not reveal any new information about what may have led to the crash in Ethiopia. “Understanding the circumstances that contributed to this accident is critical in developing further actions and returning aircraft to service,” the F.A.A. said.

In a further sign of scrutiny facing Boeing and the F.A.A., a Senate subcommittee on aviation and space said it was planning a hearing next Wednesday on airline safety.

“In light of the recent tragedy in Ethiopia and the subsequent grounding of the Boeing 737 Max aircraft, this hearing will examine challenges to the state of commercial aviation safety, including any specific concerns highlighted by recent accidents,” the subcommittee said in a statement.