Ethiopian Airlines Crash Reopens PR Issues from Lion Air Disaster

As you know, over the weekend, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed near Addis Ababa
shortly after takeoff March 10, 2019, killing all 157 people onboard. Boeing's 737 Max 8 was
the jet in both that crash and the earlier Lion Air disaster. While it's still too soon to know the
cause behind Flight 302's demise, that disaster reopened talk of the PR issues involved
Boeing and Lion Air.]

Many communicators woke Nov. 28 to accounts of the black box’s insights into the horrific
final minutes of Lion Air Flight 610. The aircraft plunged into the Java Sea late in October,
killing all 189 people onboard. It was 2018's deadliest crash.

Sensors sent incorrect data to a new flight control system inside the Boeing 737 Max 8, a new
aircraft, leading to the accident, preliminary reports say. The black box revealed pilots tried
to override the new system repeatedly during the 12-minute flight. Ultimately they were
unsuccessful. The aircraft plunged into the Java Sea at 500 mph, according to reports.

Similar to other aviation disasters, this also is a PR and reputation story. Boeing denies
allegations that Lion Air’s pilots were unaware of how to handle the new flight control
system. Yet unions representing pilots for several airlines, including American, Southwest
and United, allege their members haven’t been told much about the new system.
In addition, some allege that Boeing failed to tell prospective customers about the need to
train pilots on the new system. Boeing now is sending representatives to airlines for
education sessions. It also is alleged that Boeing had concerns about the 737’s safety, but
stayed quiet.
Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg seems to be following good crisis-management protocol.
He’s been visible, denying the allegations in public.