Several American pilots submitted complaints about the Boeing 737 Max aircraft months before the same aircraft model crashed in Ethiopia on Sunday, killing 157 people.
, were revealed as the Federal Aviation Administration doubled down on its decision to let the Max 8 and Max 9 continue to fly in the United States.
At least five complaints about the Max 8 were made in October and November, and most mention issues with the aircraft's autopilot and the plane going nose down shortly after takeoff. One pilot wrote that the Max 8's aircraft manual was"criminally insufficient.
The MCAS is a safety system installed in the Max 8 that would allow the aircraft to automatically correct itself if it enters a stall pattern, according to the Morning News. If the plane's nose begins to point too far upward during takeoff, the system would take over and push the nose down, the Morning News reported.
"I am left to wonder: What else don't I know? The Flight Manual is inadequate and almost criminally insufficient," the pilot wrote.One pilot wrote that"within two to three seconds the aircraft pitched nose down" after enabling the autopilot during takeoff. Once the autopilot was disengaged, the captain was able to continue climbing and the remainder of the flight was uneventful.
"We discussed the departure at length and I reviewed in my mind our automation setup and flight profile but can't think of any reason the aircraft would pitch nose down so aggressively," the pilot wrote.
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