The US aerospace giant said it is "keeping our customers and suppliers informed" about the new software issue. Aviation regulators have grounded the 737 Max across the globe after two deadly crashes.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images/T. S. Warren
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Boeing said on Friday that it had notified the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) about a new software issue with the 737 Max airplane.
The issue concerns software that verifies whether monitors tracking key systems of the aircraft are operating properly.
"We are making necessary updates and working with the FAA on submission of this change, and keeping our customers and suppliers informed," the US aerospace company said in a statement.
The news comes following the release of internal documents showing employees knew about problems with pilot training for the 737 Max and tried to conceal them from regulators. In the documents released by US lawmakers, Boeing employees said the aircraft was "designed by clowns, who in turn are supervised by monkeys," in an apparent reference to colleagues and management.
Europe's major plane crashes of the 21st century
DW takes a look at a few of the most deadly and significant plane crashes in Europe in the 21st century.
Image: AP/Toshihiko Sato
European aviation disasters of the 21st century: Germanwings Airbus A320
A Germanwings Airbus A320 crashed into the French Alps on March 24, 2015 during a flight from Barcelona to Dusseldorf. All 144 passengers and six crew members were killed. A co-pilot with mental problems intentionally crashed the plane.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Malaysia Airlines flight MH17
Rebels in eastern Ukraine were accused of shooting down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 on July 17, 2014 during a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. All 298 people on board died, 193 of them Dutch. A Dutch investigation found pro-Russian rebels shot the plane down with a Buk surface-to-air missile launched from separatist territory in eastern Ukraine.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/E. Dunand
Polish President Lech Kaczynski killed
A Polish air force plane carrying President Lech Kaczynski crashed near the Russian airport of Smolensk on April 10, 2010. A Russian and Polish investigation found pilot error during landing in thick fog caused the crash that killed more than 90 people. Jaroslaw Kaczynski (pictured), the twin brother of Lech and leader of the ruling PiS, has suggested the crash was a political assassination.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Kaminski
Air France Flight 447
An Air France flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashed in the Atlantic on June 1, 2009, killing all 228 people on board. It took nearly two years for the black box (pictured) to be recovered from the bottom of the ocean. The investigation found a combination of technical and pilot error caused the crash.
Image: picture alliance / dpa
Spanair Flight 5022
A Spanair MD-82 plane crashed after take-off from Madrid airport on August 20, 2008, killing 154 people. Amazingly, 18 people survived the crash and subsequent fire. The crash was caused by an improper flap and slat configuration and a failure of the pilots to follow a pre-flight checklist.
Image: AP
Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise Flight 612
A Russian passenger plane operated by Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise crashed near the eastern Ukraine city of Donetsk on August 22, 2006, killing all 170 people aboard. The plane was flying from St. Petersburg to the Black Sea resort of Anapa.
Image: AP
Helios Airways Flight 522
A Helios Airways flight from Cyprus crashed on August 14, 2005 near its destination Athens, killing all 121 on board. The crash was caused by a loss of cabin pressurization that immobilized the crew. The plane flew on autopilot until it ran out of fuel and crashed.
Image: AP
Überlingen mid-air collision
On the night of July 1, 2002, a DHL cargo plane flying near the southern German town of Überlingen struck a Russian passenger jet carrying mostly schoolchildren to Barcelona, Spain. The two men aboard the DHL plane and all 69 passengers and crew on Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937 perished. Swiss air traffic control firm Skyguide was found to be at fault for the tragedy.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Haid
SAS Flight 686
On October 8, 2001 a Scandinavian Airlines MD-87 airliner collided with a small Cessna on take-off from Milan's Linate Airport. All 114 people on the SAS and Cessna aircraft were killed, as were four people on the ground. The accident happened in thick fog. The SAS plane crashed into a hangar.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Ansa
Air France Concorde Flight
On July 25, 2000 an Air France Concorde flight from Paris to New York crashed two minutes after take-off, killing 109 people on board and four people on the ground. The crash was caused by the Concorde running over a piece of debris on the runway, which sent tire debris into part of the fuel tank that burst into flames.
Earlier on Friday, Fitch Ratings downgraded Boeing's debt rating, saying there were several factors for the decision including uncertainty about the aircraft's future and the company's damaged reputation.
Analysts expect Boeing's new chief executive to use the company's fourth-quarter call at the end of January to announce further hits to its earnings.
"Now is the time for new CEO Calhoun to get as much bad news out as possible and to provide the company with some additional buffer heading into 2020," Ken Herbert of Canaccord Genuity told the Associated Press.
