Boeing Co. on Wednesday took its most aggressive moves yet to defend its core 737 airliner franchise, saying it had developed software fixes to prevent failures of an automated flight control system that is being scrutinized after two deadly crashes in the past five months.
In the midst of one of its worst crises in years, Boeing is under pressure from crash victims' families, airlines, lawmakers in Washington and regulators around the world to prove that the automated flight control systems aboard its 737 Max aircraft are safe, and that pilots have the training required to override the system in an emergency.
A Boeing official in Seattle said Wednesday that the timing of the software upgrade was "100 percent independent of the timing of the Ethiopian accident," and that the company was taking steps to make the anti-stall system "more robust."