Boeing cutting production rate of troubled 737 Max jet

Production to be slashed from 52 to 42 planes per month to focus on finding a fix

An Ethiopean Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 parked at Bole International airport, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 4 April 2019. (EPA)

Boeing is cutting production of its troubled 737 Max jet this month to focus on fixing flight-control software suspected of causing two deadly crashes.

The company will cut production of the aircraft from 52 to 42 planes per month from mid-April, it announced on Friday.

It had already suspended deliveries of the Max after regulators around the world grounded the jet following deadly crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.

In each case, preliminary reports concluded faulty sensor readings erroneously triggered an anti-stall system that pushed the plane’s nose down.

Pilots of each plane struggled in vain to regain control over the automated system. In all, 346 people died in the crashes.

The announcement to cut production came one day after Boeing acknowledged another software issue that needs fixing on its 737 Max jets.

Boeing spokesman Charles Bickers on Friday called it a “relatively minor issue” and said the plane maker already has a fix in the works.

He added that the latest issue was not part of the flight-control software Boeing has been working to upgrade for months.