American pilots reported two Boeing 737 Max 8 planes suddenly went ‘nose down’ last year

Pilots on at least two US flights have revealed computer systems forced their Boeing 737 Max 8 jets to suddenly “nose down”, in another worrying development for the troubled airliner. Virgin Australia has now toughened its stance on the Max 8.

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Pilots on at least two US flights have revealed computer systems forced their Boeing 737 Max 8 jets to suddenly “nose down”, in another worrying development for the troubled airliner.

The reports came as an increasing number of airlines and more than 40 countries, including the entire European Union, joined Australia in banning the American-built jet from their skies.

Virgin Australia on Wednesday toughened its stance on the Max 8, saying it will not introduce the jet to its fleet as planned in November unless “completely satisfied with its safety”.

A Max 8 operated by Ethiopian Airlines crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa on Sunday, killing all 157 passengers on board.

Virgin Australia has toughened its stance saying it won’t introduce the model to the fleet unless they’re “completely satisfied with its safety”. Picture: Matt Thompson

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Five months earlier, a Lion Air Max 8 plunged into the sea after takeoff in Indonesia, killing 189 people on board.

The reports from the two American pilots were filed after incidents last year.

In one, an airline captain said the co-pilot called out “descending” and a cockpit warning said “don’t sink, don’t sink” immediately after he turned on the autopilot.

On another, the co-pilot said immediately after engaging the autopilot the plane began to descend at between 365m and 460m a minute.

Both problems were resolved as soon as the auto-pilot was turned off.

An Ethiopian Airlines jet crashed minutes after taking off, killing everyone on board. Picture: Jemal Countess/Getty Images

In October last year, a Lion Air jet crashed into the ocean after take-off in Indonesia. Picture: Adek Berry/AFP

The pilots talked about it “but can’t think of any reason the aircraft would pitch nose down so aggressively”.

However, in searching for answers they found “the flight manual is inadequate and almost criminally insufficient”.

The issue appears different to the fatal crashes, where experts have looked at problems with the automatic anti-stall device called the Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS).

That kicks in and pushes the nose down if it thinks the plane is about to stall.

A Fiji Airways 737 Max 8 plane landed in Sydney on Tuesday night. Picture: Christian Gilles

Australian aviation expert Neil Hansford backed up the concerns of the American pilots, saying the plane’s flight manual did not give any information on how to disable the MCAS system.

“The problem is that Boeing has designed an aircraft that is too long. They have taken the body of the original 707, which held 104 passengers, and lengthened it to take 210,” Mr Hansford said.

“That forces the nose to tilt up and stall.”

Former inspector-general of the US Transportation Department Mary Schiavo explained: “They put a computer modification on a plane to keep it from stalling but didn’t tell the pilots and train them.”

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority has suspended the plane from our airspace.