Ethiopian Airlines insists its pilots were versed in Boeing 737 Max runaway-stabilizer procedures in the wake of the Lion Air Max 8 accident last October.

It says its crews completed differences training between its previous 737s and the 737 Max before the Max 8 was introduced to the Ethiopian fleet, and that its training capabilities include access to a Max simulator.

The airline has not detailed the content of its differences training programme, nor specified the extent to which its crews have been trained on simulators for the 737 Max.

Ethiopian’s pilots have been “well-briefed” on the Lion Air accident and the directives on coping with a runaway stabilizer which emerged in the wake of the crash, the airline states.

But it claims that the full-flight simulator is “not designed” to replicate the “problems” with the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) – the enhancement introduced to the Max which automatically shifts the horizontal stabilizer to counter a high nose-up attitude.

The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has requested its inspector general to carry out an audit of the certification process of the Boeing 737 Max 8.

A memorandum released by the transportation secretary read: "This is to confirm my request that the Office of Inspector General proceed with an audit to compile an objective and detailed factual history of the activities that resulted in the certification of the Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft."

Questions have since been raised over Boeing's influence over the 737 Max certification process, as the US Federal Aviation Administration delegated the certification process task to Boeing.

Jet Airways has grounded another six aircraft, raising the number of grounded aircraft to at least 48 for defaults on lease payments.The airline's latest round of groundings forced India's aviation minister Suresh Prabhu to convene an emergency meeting.

The airline along with the ministry's secretary and the country's directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA), will hold meetings to discuss the grounding's impact on "advance bookings, cancellation, refunds and safety issues, if any.