Boeing admits ‘catastrophic fault’ on its new 737 Max 8 jet caused two crashes

BOEING yesterday admitted a catastrophic fault on its new jet caused two crashes which claimed 346 lives.

Boss Dennis Muilenburg apologised for the “heart-wrenching” Ethiopia Airlines and Lion Air disasters and pledged to correct the flaw.

The US giant lost nearly a fifth of its value as 737 Max 8 models were grounded worldwide.

Preliminary findings from the Ethiopia smash that killed 157 last month pointed to an anti-stall system malfunction.

Crew were powerless to stop a computer overriding their battle to stop a fatal nosedive.

Another probe showed a similar pattern on an Indonesian Lion Air Max 8 flight which crashed into the sea last October, killing all 189 on board.

Mr Muilenburg said: “We are sorry for the lives lost. I cannot remember a more heart-wrenching time in my career with this great company.

“In both flights the Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System activated in response to erroneous information.

“It’s our responsibility to eliminate this risk.

“We own it, we know how to do it.”

The firm said software to correct the fault will make the planes “among the safest ever to fly”.