Safety Board publishes first findings crash Turkish Airlines

The Dutch Safety Board has issued a warning to Boeing as a result of the first findings of the investigation into the crash of the Boeing 737-800 at 25 February 2009 a few moments before the landing at the Polderbaan of Schiphol Airport. The automatic throttle system, as a part of the automatic steering system received incorrect information because of a malfunction in the left radio altimeter. The chairman of the Board, prof. Pieter van Vollenhoven, reported Wednesday that, while the plane was still at an altitude of 1950 feet, the radio altimeter reported an altitude of – 8 feet, which caused the automatic throttle system to reduce power and configurated the rest of the systems as if the plane was only a few meters above the Polderbaan. When the crew of the Turkish Airlines noticed what was going on, it was already too late to intervene effectively. Boeing has given notice that a warning will be issued to all users of this type of plane to make them aware of this possible risk.