“Pitch up, pitch-up” the final words said moments before the Boeing 737 Max jetliner crashed three weeks ago.
The pilot who urged the other to pitch up was not identified, as all 157 people on board the plane were killed. The newspaper’s report came as Boeing faces mounting pressure to roll out a software update for its 737 Max, its best-selling jet.
First Officer Ahmed Nur Mohammed contacted the control tower and in a crackling transmission reported a “flight control problem,” according to the newspaper, which cited people close to the ongoing investigation. The tower asked for details as Captain Yared Getachew tried to climb and correct the glide path, the paper reported.
A faulty anti-stalling system on the Max is suspected in the disaster, which occurred shortly after takeoff. The Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) flight-control feature is also suspected in the crash of a Lion Air Boeing 737 Max in Indonesia last October
