Indonesia orders inspection of all Boeing 737-MAX airliners in wake of Lion Air crash, as concerns raised over pitot pipe

Aviation experts have said that a small metal tube located on the wing of commercial airplanes that measures airspeed could have been responsible for the Lion Air crash on Tuesday which killed all 189 on board.  Indonesia has now ordered the inspection of all Boeing 737-MAX airliners as rescue teams recovered more human remains and wreckage from the brand new jet that plunged into the sea. The plane had flown erratically the day before the crash and its instruments recorded inaccurate airspeed and altitude readings, according to a number of sources.   Now experts have said that a fault with a pitot pipe - which was found to have caused the Air France Flight 447 to crash into the Atlantic in 2009 - could have been to blame.  Maintaining correct airspeed is crucial. If a plane flies too slowly it can stall while if it flies too fast it can break up. In the case of the Air France flight, ice was found to have clogged one of the plane's pitot pipes. Personal items recovered the site crash of Lion Air flight JT 610 Credit: Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images AsiaPac “The erratic flight path makes us suspect a problem with the pitot-static system,” Gerry Soejatman, an Indonesian aviation expert, told The New York Times. Experts told the newspaper that it was too early to determine the exact cause of the accident and added that it was a combination of equipment malfunctions and human error that often led to crashes. The Boeing-737 MAX, which went into service just a few months ago, crashed into the Java Sea off Indonesia's northern coast moments after it had asked to return to Jakarta on Monday. Search and rescue personnel examine recovered debris and personal items from Lion Air flight JT 610 Credit: Getty Images AsiaPac Flight JT610 sped up as it suddenly lost altitude and then vanished from radar 12 minutes after take-off, with witnesses saying the single-aisle jet plunged into the water. The accident has resurrected concerns about Indonesia's patchy air safety record which led to a now-lifted ban on its planes entering US and European airspace. On Tuesday Indonesia's transport minister ordered an inspection of all 737-MAX aircraft but he stopped short of grounding the new models. Dozens of divers were taking part in the recovery effort along with helicopters and ships. Authorities are trying to pinpoint the smashed jet's location and flight data recorders expected to be crucial to the crash investigation. There were 178 adult passengers, one child, two infants, two pilots and six cabin crew on board.

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