In Lion Air crash, black box data reveals pilots’ struggle to regain control

Data from the jetliner that crashed into the Java Sea last month shows the pilots fought to save the plane almost from the moment it took off, as the Boeing 737’s nose was repeatedly forced down, apparently by an automatic system receiving incorrect sensor readings. The information from the flight data recorder, contained in a preliminary report prepared by Indonesian crash investigators documents a fatal tug-of-war between man and machine, with the plane’s nose forced dangerously downward over 2 dozen times during the 11-minute flight. The data is consistent with the theory investigators have been most focused on: that a computerised system Boeing installed on its latest generation of 737 to prevent the plane’s nose from getting too high instead forced the nose down because of incorrect information it was receiving from sensors. <br/>