Boeing is reportedly exploring a software upgrade for its 737 MAX aircraft after Lion Air flight 610 came down in the sea off Jakarta shortly after take off last month killing all 189 people onboard.
Reuters, citing two sources “briefed” on the situation, said the aircraft manufacturer could roll out the software update over the next six to eight weeks which would address issues the crew aboard the doomed aircraft experienced.
Investigators this week issued their preliminary findings, which they said indicated the aircraft should have been grounded.
“In our opinion, the plane was no longer airworthy,” the BBC quoted head of aviation at Indonesia’s National Transport Safety Committee (NTSC) Nurcahyo Utomo as saying.
It is believed the aircraft’s anti-stall system was fed incorrect data from a faulty “angle of attack” sensor, repeatedly forcing the nose down.
The NTSC reported the sensor had been adjusted the day before the crash after the pilot and first officer reported a discrepancy between the settings and the aircraft’s instrument panels.
Reuters’ sources said the software update would come as an “emergency measure” from Boeing and the US Federal Aviation Administration and could, essentially, reset modifications to the anti-stall system.
Boeing has insisted its 737s are safe. It has so far declined to comment on its proposed course of action.