Johannesburg – Global aerospace giant Boeing Company on Wednesday unveiled new methods it was putting in place to improve the software of its ill-fated 737 Max 8 aircraft following two devastating crashes in recent months.
The new methods unveiled by Boeing for its troubled aircraft include upgrading software, fixing cockpit alerts, and additional pilot training.
Earlier this month, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashed shortly after it took off from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia on its way to Nairobi in Kenya, claiming the lives of all 157 people on board an Ethiopian Airlines.
The Boeing model was grounded in the wake of this month's crash, which was the second disaster for the 737 MAX 8 following the October crash of an Indonesian Lion Air jet that killed all 189 passengers and crew.
In a statement late Wednesday, the company said that it has developed a manoeuvring characteristics augmentation system - a flight control law that enhances the pitch stability of the aeroplane - in a bid to provide additional layers of protection if the angle of attack sensors provide erroneous data.
Boeing said that these updates reduce the crew's workload in non-normal flights situations and prevent erroneous data from causing the manoeuvring characteristics augmentation system activation.
Boeing also said that it has created an updated computer-based training and manual review to accompany the software update. Once approved, the updated computer-based training and manual review will be accessible to all 737 Max pilots.