According to an online news report from wtsp.com, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has pulled the license for a company that performed maintenance on the Lion Air plane that crashed into the Java Sea in October 2018.
The Lion Air crash happened in late 2018 on a plane that departed Jakarta, Indonesia. Less than 15 minutes into its flight, the plane, a Boeing 737 MAX, crashed into the Java Sea. All of the people on board the plane were tragically killed. Since the day of the crash, investigators have been working to determine what went wrong, with much of the blame falling on the shoulders of Boeing.
Following the Lion Air crash, another 737 MAX crashed. This plane went down in Ethiopia, also resulting in the tragic deaths of everyone on board. Striking similarities existed between the two crashes. Both appeared to be due to malfunctions in the “angle of attack” sensors on the airplanes, which caused the noses of the planes to veer downward. The parallels in these crashes caused numerous countries and airlines to ground the entire MAX line of airplanes.
In subsequent investigation, Indonesian officials have identified additional failures that contributed to the Lion Air crash, one of which was maintenance performed on the plane the day prior. On that day, the same plane underwent a replacement of the angle of attack sensor, and the sensor was not properly calibrated.
WTSP reports that the FAA has now revoked the license of the company that made the sensor repair: Xtra Aerospace, based in Miramar, Florida. The FAA stated that Xtra Aerospace was performing unauthorized repairs and had not been keeping accurate records.
Investigation into the Ethiopian plane crash continues, and Boeing has released statements indicating it is working to make safety upgrades to its 737 MAX planes.
At Torgenson Law, our aviation accident lawyers have years of experience representing personal injury and wrongful death victims for over 15 years. If you or a loved one were harmed in an aviation accident, call Torgenson Law at (602) 726-0747 for your free case review.