The Ethiopian airport’s altitude hasn’t been cited as a factor in the downing of Flight 302 and likely didn’t cause the crash. Data released last week from the Ethiopian Airlines flight indicated the pilots didn’t cut the 737 Max 8 airplane’s speed after takeoff when they should have. Six Minutes to Disaster: Ethiopian Pilots Battled Boeing MaxBoeing cited the performance of the 737 Max 8 in a case brought before the U.S. International Trade Commission in 2017. ‘Challenging Airports’Boeing stated in a brief filed in the trade case that the “737 Max 7 has greater performance capabilities at challenging airports. Certain U.S. airports are unsuitable for the Max 8 “due to a combination of short runway lengths, elevation, temperature, humidity and other environmental conditions."

Source: Ethiopian News April 11, 2019 17:04 UTC