Exclusive - Data shows angle of attack similar in Boeing 737 crashes: source

Israeli Moshe Briton (L) who's brother Daniel Reem, and Ilan Matsliah (C), who's brother Avi were on board of the flight ET 302, are accompanied by a volunteer of Israeli rescue and recovery organisation ZAKA as they search for remains of Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 plane crash victims at the scene of a plane crash, near the town of Bishoftu, southeast of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia March 12, 2019. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

PARIS (Reuters) - Investigators probing the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX jet eight days ago have found strong similarities in the 'angle of attack' data recorded by the doomed aircraft's cockpit recorder and data from a Lion Air jet of the same model that crashed in October, a person familiar with the matter said.

Graphs of the two sets of data are "very, very similar," the person said on Monday, asking not to be identified because the matter is still in the early stages of investigation.

FILE PHOTO: A Saudi man who's brother died in the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 plane crash, watches debris after a commemoration ceremony at the scene of the crash, near the town of Bishoftu, southeast of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia March 13, 2019. REUTERS/Baz Ratner/File Photo

The angle is a key flight parameter that must remain narrow enough to preserve lift and avoid an aerodynamic stall.

A flight deck computer's response to readings from an apparently faulty angle-of-attack sensor is at the centre of an ongoing probe into the Lion Air disaster.

The similarity between the two data readings on the Ethiopian and Lion Air flights will be subjected to further investigation, the person said.

Ethiopian and other investigators were not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher, Editing by Georgina Prodhan)