A bug in the plane's software is suspected to be behind the two fatal crashes of Boeing's 737 Max 8.

Now, a crisis simulator test shows that the pilots had less than 40 seconds to take over the system that is believed to have caused the crashes.

The two crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia involving the Boeing 737 Max 8 plane led to the deaths of 346 people.

A bug in the MCAS software, which has been installed in the latest generation of Boeing's best-selling 737 Max, is suspected to be behind the crashes.

Now, a test that recreates the Lion Air plane's last flight has been carried out in a crisis simulator.

Only had a few seconds

During the test, it turned out that the pilots had less than 40 seconds to take control, before the automatic system took over and caused the plane to dive downward towards an inevitable crash.

According to the New York Times, the pilots on the crashed Lion Air plane had not even been informed that the system was installed in the new planes.

After the crash in Indonesia, American pilots demanded answers from Boeing about why they too had not received any information about the MCAS software.

The software should keep the plane's nose down

The MCAS software is intended to compensate for the fact that the engines are placed further forward on the plane's wings, in the new generation 737 Max plane.

The placement of the engines can cause the nose to end up too high, and then the idea is for the MCAS software to push down the front of the plane. 

But in the two crashes, it is believed that MCAS perceived incorrect readings and therefore pushed the plane down towards the ground.

Source: Aftonbladet