Pilots complained to authorities about issues with the Boeing 737 Max for months before the deadly E

By Rosie Perper

Several pilots made at least five complaints about Boeing 737 Max 8 planes in the months leading up to the deadly Ethiopian Airlines crash on Sunday, the second crash of a Boeing 737 Max 8 in recent months.

US records show that at least five complaints were lodged with federal authorities in recent months, with one captain even calling the flight manual "inadequate and almost criminally insufficient," according to the Dallas Morning News.

The complaints were made in the Federal Aviation Administration's incident database which allows pilots to report issues about aviation incidents anonymously.

The complaints highlighted issues with the Max 8's autopilot system, which has been called into question following the crash of Lion Air Flight 610 in October. That incident also involved a Boeing 737 Max 8 plane.

According to the black box recovered from the Lion Air crash, Flight 610 was repeatedly pushed into a dive position, most likely because of the automated system's malfunctioning sensors, a fault that began moments after it took off from Jakarta en route to Bali. All 189 people on board were killed in that crash.

Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde GebreMariam told CNN that the similarities between the Lion Air crash and Sunday's crash are "substantial."

"He was having difficulties with the flight control of the airplane, so he asked to return back to base," GebreMariam said. Read more...