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I've been following the Lion Air 737 crash investigation with interest. As is often the case, the media's extremely poor understanding of technical matters makes it a little difficult to follow. One article I raid proclaimed that "the black box" had been found, but the author apparently didn't understand that there are in fact two black boxes and didn't specify which was found or if both were (my understanding is only the flight data recorder was found). So let's try to sort through the chaff here.
Currently, the investigation seems to be focused on:
1. An airspeed indicator failure.
2. An angle of attack indicator failure.
3. A flight control logic problem related to the two issues above.
Early reports were that the plane's airspeed indicator had been reported by pilots to have malfunctioned on 3 previous flights. One previous flight even showed the plane flying erratically in a manner similar to the crash profile (several dives when it should have been climbing steadily.
In addition, the angle of attack sensor was replaced the day before the crash. Boeing has issued a safety bulletin regarding AOA indicator failiure.
Things that aren't clear to me
1. Was the plane was in autopilot or manual control or a hybrid (caused by a sensor failure)?
2. If in manual, were automated stall prevention measures by the flight control system in effect?
My line of reasoning/question is this: Air France 447 happened because a pilot didn't handle a faulty airspeed reading properly, stalled the aircraft, and it fell out of the sky. I'm wondering if this crash happened because the aircraft misunderstood a faulty airspeed/AOA indication and crashed itself -- even, possibly, against the pilot's efforts to avoid the crash.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/boeing-warns-pilots-over-737-max-sensors-after-lion-air-n933376
https://theaircurrent.com/aviation-...bulletin-on-aoa-warning-after-lion-air-crash/
Currently, the investigation seems to be focused on:
1. An airspeed indicator failure.
2. An angle of attack indicator failure.
3. A flight control logic problem related to the two issues above.
Early reports were that the plane's airspeed indicator had been reported by pilots to have malfunctioned on 3 previous flights. One previous flight even showed the plane flying erratically in a manner similar to the crash profile (several dives when it should have been climbing steadily.
In addition, the angle of attack sensor was replaced the day before the crash. Boeing has issued a safety bulletin regarding AOA indicator failiure.
Things that aren't clear to me
1. Was the plane was in autopilot or manual control or a hybrid (caused by a sensor failure)?
2. If in manual, were automated stall prevention measures by the flight control system in effect?
My line of reasoning/question is this: Air France 447 happened because a pilot didn't handle a faulty airspeed reading properly, stalled the aircraft, and it fell out of the sky. I'm wondering if this crash happened because the aircraft misunderstood a faulty airspeed/AOA indication and crashed itself -- even, possibly, against the pilot's efforts to avoid the crash.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/boeing-warns-pilots-over-737-max-sensors-after-lion-air-n933376
https://theaircurrent.com/aviation-...bulletin-on-aoa-warning-after-lion-air-crash/
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