Faulty sensors may have crashed Lion air boeing in Indonesia

New Delhi : Preliminary investigations suggest that a Lion Air Flight 610 boeing 737 Max may have crashed due to faulty sensors which alert pilots of any upcoming emergency with the aircraft. 

Lion Air flight JT610 had crashed into Indonesian waters on October 29, killing 189 people on board. Indian pilot Bhavye Suneja was one of the two pilots driving the aircraft.

On Tuesday, Boeing has issued a special direction to all the pilots operating 737 Max. Based on the bulletin it appears that the nose of the Lion Aircraft was pointing down that may had increased the speed of the aircraft during crash landing into the waters.

For a safe climb-out, the aircraft’s nose is pitched up at a small angle. This puts both its wings at an acute angle with respect to the oncoming airflow. This angle between the wing and the oncoming airflow is called the ‘Angle of Attack’ (AOA). Setting the aircraft at an optimum AOA is crucial during the climb-out phase. If the AOA is too low, the aircraft won’t climb out fast enough. If the angle of attack is too high, then its speed decreases and the aircraft could enter an aerodynamic stall. AOA sensor inputs are then crucial because it forewarns a pilot about a possible stall due to a high AOA.

“The Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee has indicated that Lion Air flight 610 experienced erroneous input from one of its AOA (Angle of Attack) sensors,” said a statement released by Boeing on Wednesday.

Under the subject heading, the Boeing bulletin says: “Uncommanded Nose Down Stabilizer Trim Due to Erroneous Angle of Attack (AOA) During Manual Flight Only.”