The story regarding Sunday’s tragic Boeing 737 Max 8 crash in Ethiopia continues to unfold. Now, investigators examining the wreckage have found a part indicating that the jet was set to dive before the crash.



This has precipitated some discussion about whether sabotage could have been behind the crash of the airplane, or if it was due to technical difficulties with the airplane’s anti-stalling system. Moreover, Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson has weighed in on the topic, suggesting that hacking may be behind the crash.



The aircraft’s jackscrew reportedly forced the airplane to dive



Toshi Times has previously covered how President Trump recently announced a ban on all Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 aircraft in the US.



Now, however, investigations into the Ethiopian Airlines’ aircraft wreckage have revealed that the plane’s jackscrew – an apparatus used to raise and lower the aircraft’s nose – suggests the plane was set to dive, according to a fresh Bloomberg report.



The jackscrew, in conjunction with a recently obtained satellite flight track of the aircraft, was what convince the FAA that the Ethiopian Airlines crash might have been similar to that of another Boeing 737 Max last October.



However, the revelation that the plane was set to dive has caused somewhat of a stir regarding why it became set to crash into the ground in the first place.



Could the Boeing 737 Max’s MCAS be to blame?



The ruling theory is that this was the result of a malfunction with the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS). This is a new type of flight control system, designed by Boeing in order to make the Boeing 737 Max feel the same to pilots as the older model 737s.



Furthermore, the MCAS is designed to make the Boeing 737 Max’s horizontal tail swivel, in order to automatically push the plane’s nose down without pilot input. This is intended to happen if a sensor on the aircraft’s fuselage indicates the aircraft may be about to stall.



It is unclear whether a malfunction with the aircraft’s MCAS may have set the jackscrew to force the plane downwards, but Boeing is currently said to be working on a software fix for this.



Charles Hoskinson insinuates hacking may be to blame – far-fetched or probable?



However, Charles Hoskinson recently commented on the issue, tweeting that he ”wouldn’t be surprised” if the crash had, in fact, been caused by a hacking attack.



Hoskinson argued that he suggested this due to the fact that ”these planes are hyperconnected and have so much complex software.”



Nevertheless, there are currently no major signs that the mysterious plane crash was caused by a hacking attack. With that being said, however, the revelation that the aircraft’s jackscrew was set to force it down is hopefully the first step towards finding the reason behind the accident.

Image Credits: “Forbes”