Investigators found faults by Boeing, Lion Air and the pilots led to the crash, which killed 189 people.Read more
This report describes a catalogue of failures - from poor communication to bad design to inadequate flying skills - which culminated in the deaths of 189 people.
There are lots of what-ifs here. If the crew of the previous day's flight had given a more detailed description of the problems they'd faced, the aircraft might never have taken off on its fatal flight.
And if the Captain, who'd successfully kept the plane in the air despite the intervention of a rogue automated system he didn't understand hadn't handed over to his less-capable first officer, disaster might still have been avoided.
As Boeing's CEO Dennis Muilenburg has repeatedly stated, there was a chain of events. But at the heart of that chain was MCAS - a control system that the pilots didn't know about, and which was vulnerable to a single sensor failure.
Boeing - and regulators - allowed the system to be designed in this way and didn't change it after the Lion Air crash, leading to a further disaster. And that means that while the report clearly points to serious failures by a parts supplier and by the airline itself, it is Boeing which will bear the greatest share of responsibility.
In response to Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee's report into the Lion Air crash of a Boeing 737 Max, the US company's chief executive Dennis Muilenburgsaid: "We are addressing the KNKT's safety recommendations, and taking actions to enhance the safety of the 737 Max to prevent the flight control conditions that occurred in this accident from ever happening again."
He said: "Over the past several months Boeing has been making changes to the 737 Max.
"Most significantly, Boeing has redesigned the way Angle of Attack (AoA) sensors work with a feature of the flight control software known as Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS).
"Going forward, MCAS will compare information from both AoA sensors before activating, adding a new layer of protection.
"In addition, MCAS will now only turn on if both AoA sensors agree, will only activate once in response to erroneous AOA and will always be subject to a maximum limit that can be overridden with the control column.
"These software changes will prevent the flight control conditions that occurred in this accident from ever happening again."
He added: "Boeing is updating crew manuals and pilot training, designed to ensure every pilot has all of the information they need to fly the 737 Max safely."
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Boeing could be facing more bad news this morning as Indonesia's air safety watchdog prepares to release its report into last year's Lion Air crash which killed 189 people.
The Lion Air pilots were flying a Boeing 737 Max 8 plane and within five months the same model would be at the centre of another fatal incident when an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed in March, claiming the lives of all 157 people on board.
Parts of the report were leaked earlier this week and highlighted problems with the Boeing 737 Max's flight control system - the Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS).
The report said MCAS as a "contributing factor" in the Lion Air crash.
It added that the system was vulnerable to the sole sensor it relied on for inputs, and that a sensor on the Lion Air plane that had undergone earlier repairs had been "miscalibrated".
The 737 MAX was grounded worldwide in March after two deadly crashes killed 346 people within five months.
In the latest quarter, American said it took a $140m hit to its pre-tax income because of cancelled flights.
American said net income rose to $425m in the three months to the end of September.
Total operating revenue climbed 3% to $11.91bn.
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Boeing expects its troubled 737 Max 8 aircraft to return to the skies before the end of the year.
But Peter Morris, chief economist at Ascend, told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme that it was not in the aircraft maker's control.
"They do not control the safety authorities…. Before everyone marched in lockstep with the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] now it’s almost certain EASA {European Union Aviation Safety Agency] may not go the same way," he says.
"The other faction has been with the Chinese who were the first to ground the airplane. It's noticeable against a background of trade war there haven't been [Chinese] orders for Boeing since 2017. There may be another undercurrent here".
Reuters
Over the three months to September, Boeing said the number of commercial planes it delivered dropped by 67% to 62 jets.
Revenues for the division fell by 41% to $8.2bn (£6.3bn).
Boeing added: "Given the current global trade environment, the 787 production rate will be reduced to 12 airplanes per month for approximately two years beginning in late 2020."
On Tuesday, Boeing announced that the boss of its commercial airplanes division, Kevin McAllister, was stepping down.
Mr McAllister is the most senior person at Boeing to lose their job since the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airline crashes claimed the lives of 345 passengers and crew.
Mr McAllister is set to appear before US Congress next week to answer questions about the Boeing 737 Max.
Boeing, the embattled plane-maker, says its third quarter sales fell by 21% to $19.9bn.
Pre-tax profit for the three months to 30 September fell to $1.1bn from $2.1bn in the third quarter last year.
More to follow...
The company said it would "gradually increase the 737 production rate from 42 per month to 57 per month by late 2020".
Boeing's chief executive Dennis Muilenburg said: "Our top priority remains the safe return to service of the 737 Max and we're making steady progress.
"We've also taken action to further sharpen our company's focus on product and services safety."
