At a time when the aviation sector is still grappling with the technological challenges posed by the two aircraft crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia involving Boeing 737 Max 8 jets, Lion Air pilot Bhavye Suneja's wife Garima Sethi has revealed that she pleaded with senior officials of the Indonesian carrier to ground the aircraft in January.
Sethi told the Washington Post that she made the requests numerous times since the October 29 crash near Jakarta that claimed 189 lives, including Suneja's. The mishap also opened investigations into and debates around the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) system, a stall prevention system designed to point the nose of the 737 MAX 8 downward if it is in danger of stalling, or losing lift.
The latest revelation comes amid Boeing conducting test flights of its upgraded narrow-body aircraft to evaluate a fix for the system last week, which has been identified as a potential cause for the two crashes within a gap of five months.
What is MCAS?
As per an explainer on aviation website Air Current, during the 737 Max 8 development phase, Boeing engineers faced a problem of fitting a much larger and more fuel-efficient engine under the narrow-body passenger jet's low-riding landing gear.
They moved the engine a little bit forward and higher, apart from extending the landing gear by eight inches, thereby introducing another 14 per cent improvement in fuel consumption of the aircraft.
The relocated engines led to a situation where the aircraft's nose was getting inclined upwards. To compensate for this, Boeing engineers tweaked the aircraft handling mechanism through the MCAS system, a mechanism which helps the pilots to bring the nose down, in case the aircraft's angle of attack drifts too high during manual flights.
The anti-stall device is activated without pilot input and commands the nose down stabilizer to enhance pitch characteristics during steep turns with elevated load factors and when the flaps are up at airspeeds approaching stall.
It activates when the sensed angle of attack (AoA) exceeds a threshold based on airspeed and altitude, tilting the 737 Max's horizontal stabilizer upward at a rate of .27 degrees per second for a total incline of 2.5 degrees in just under 10 seconds.
The stabilizer movement depends on airspeed, measured in Mach number. The stabilizer moves less at higher Mach, and more at lower Mach.
The pilots can't stop or override the trim mechanism under MCAS by moving their control yokes.
At a higher AoA, the MCAS commands another incremental stabilizer nose down command, says the Boeing directives.
The whole system can only be deactivated or overridden if pilots manually trim the 737 Max to lower the angle of attack.
The system caught the commercial pilots off-guard after the Lion Air crash, as it was not mentioned in the Flight Crew Operational Manual (FCOM) that governs the master description for pilots.
Boeing said in a statement, "We are taking every measure to fully understand all aspects of this incident, working closely to the investigating team and all regulatory authorities involved. We are confident in the safety of the 737 Max. Safety remains our top priority and is a core value for everyone at Boeing."
The explainer also said that since MCAS operates at a higher g load and near stall, a pilot should never see the mechanism's operation. So Boeing did not include the MCAS details on its FCOM.
Sethi blames Lion Air for failing to act on her concerns
Sethi said that despite her taking up the issue of the aircraft's safety, Lion Air said they needed more information before taking a decision on grounding their remaining 737 Max 8 fleet. The officials also told her that Boeing had reassured the Indonesian carrier that the aircraft was safe.
Sethi believes the Ethiopian air crash, which killed 157 onboard, including the flight crew, could have been avoided if the appeals against the usage of Boeing 737 Max 8 were given more weight by aviation stakeholders.
"We tried to do our part, but nobody heard us," Sethi added.
Lion Air and Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee declined to respond.
Indonesia experts released a preliminary report in November, which focused on possible flawed readings by 737 Max's MCAS mechanism. Investigators believe the system redirected the aircraft's nose downward, leaving the cockpit crew unable to override the autopilot.
A similar scenario is now being investigated as the potential cause for last month's Ethiopian crash.
Suneja was known as a methodical pilot, Sethi said.
She also said that her late husband liked to arrive early and go through the inspection and pre-flight checklist.
Suneja simply loved flying: Sethi
Sethi and Suneja grew up in a New Delhi suburb. After meeting through a matrimonial website, they began their relationship over coffee on one of Suneja's trips back home from Jakarta. They got married in July 2016.
They moved to Indonesia shortly after their marriage.
Suneja, who was outgoing and charismatic, was also a technology buff who kept track of the latest mobile phones and used to go for the newest camera or watch.
"He simply loved flying," Sethi said.
The couple would host weekly gatherings in Jakarta, where Suneja used to cook for the guests.
Lion Air pilots used to consult Suneja on safety issues
Despite being the youngest captain in the Lion Air fleet, Sethi said Suneja's colleagues used to often have long discussions with him regarding safety issues faced by them during daily operations.
"He completed practical and computer training in 2018 to be certified to fly the 737 Max 8 and he used to say that the aircraft was very good," Sethi said.
She also claimed that after the October 29 crash, Suneja's colleagues told her that Lion Air's pilots had received no training on the MCAS. The same was also confirmed by the Indonesian officials who said that Boeing's manual for the new plane did not fully describe the anti-stall software, including the mechanism of how to disable the problematic system.
Suneja's aircraft faced MCAS problems on its penultimate flight
Sethi also claimed that her husband's colleagues told her that the aircraft had flown from Jakarta to Bali, where a malfunctioning angle-of-attack sensor was replaced. When it started its return to Jakarta, the pilots experienced problems and made a distress call. However, they were assisted by a third pilot, who was inside the aircraft and helped the pilots to disable the MCAS and restore manual control.
However, the Indonesian investigators' preliminary report did not mention the third pilot's presence. Sethi said that during a PowerPoint presentation by the investigators, she and her mother-in-law asked about the omission and urged the officials to tell the other families and the public the whole truth. The officials, however, did not oblige.
"The presence of a third pilot on board the previous Lion Air flight was excluded from the preliminary report because investigators had not yet interviewed him or ascertained his exact role," said Nurcahyo Utomo, an investigator at Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee.
"So we heard about it, but it was not yet confirmed," Utomo added.
Raised the software glitch issue with Indonesian authorities: Sethi
In January 2019, during a meeting with Lion Air officials, Sethi urged them to ground the Max planes, while citing media reports that Boeing was already working on a software fix to the MCAS.
"We suggested if it was a software glitch, why not ground it for a while?" she said.
No steps were taken by Indonesian aviation authorities to stop the 737 Max operations till March, despite protests by victims' families in front of the Presidential Palace.
Sethi was out with a friend on March 10 in Delhi, the same day the Ethiopian crash took place. After hearing the news, she immediately rushed back home to find out more updates.
"It was altogether the same story. I don't have any words," Sethi said, adding that she was distressed to learn that the Max 8 jet that crashed immediately after taking off from Addis Ababa's Bole International Airport had been delivered by Boeing in mid-November, just days after the Lion Air disaster.
She also accused Boeing of playing with people's lives.
Sethi, a chartered accountant by profession, is now gathering crucial information about sensors, simulators and training manuals of passenger aircraft.
"I'm just looking for justice. Whoever was at fault should own up to their mistakes," she said. She hasn't filed any lawsuit against Lion Air over the death of her husband, whom she still remembers as a passionate flier and a good human being.