Boeing has confirmed that it was aware of problems in its 737 Max aircraft a year before the model was involved in two separate fatal crashes . Specifically , Boeing was aware that the Aircraft Angle of Attack ( AOA ) alarm alert was not functional without an opt - in alarm feature , which the firm had intended to make redundant . The error was discovered after deliveries had begun , according to Boeing , and it had planned to solve the error through a software update . Five months earlier, 189 people were killed in a Lion Air crash. Boeing maintains that the error did not “ impact airplane safely or operation ” .
Boeing has confirmed that it was aware of problems in its 737 Max aircraft a year before the model was involved in two separate fatal crashes . Specifically , Boeing was aware that the Aircraft Angle of Attack ( AOA ) alarm alert was not functional without an opt - in alarm feature , which the firm had intended to make redundant . The error was discovered after deliveries had begun , according to Boeing , and it had planned to solve the error through a software update . Boeing maintains that the error did not “ impact airplane safely or operation ” .