Precautionary move that puts people’s safety first
To guard against potential risks, China’s civilian aviation authority ordered all Chinese airlines to indefinitely ground their Boeing 737 Max 8 planes on Monday. The decision, made after one of the aircraft operated by Ethiopian Airlines crashed on Sunday killing all on board, is a necessary and reasonable move as China’s airlines operate 90 of the aircraft.
Sunday’s disaster happened shortly after the plane took off from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital. The aircraft was new and the weather was clear at the time but the pilots reportedly tried to return to the airport before the plane went into a fatal nose-dive killing all 157 passengers and crew on board. Eight Chinese nationals, including one from Hong Kong, were among the victims.
We extend our condolences to the families of the deceased. Considering that the newest version of Boeing’s 737 airliner was involved in a previous deadly crash in Indonesia just five months ago, it is natural that questions are being asked worldwide about the plane. It is essential that the cause of the crash be identified as soon as possible so that similar tragedies can be avoided.
“Given that two accidents both involved newly delivered Boeing 737-8 planes and happened during the takeoff phase, they have some degree of similarity”, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said in a statement, which made clear that grounding the aircraft was in line with its principle of zero tolerance to security risks.
Boeing’s 737 is the best-selling airliner in history, and there are already more than 5,000 orders for the Max, the newest, more fuelefficient version of the plane. The US company needs to address global concerns in a timely fashion. As one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of commercial aircraft, with questions being asked about the automated system that activates if sensors indicate that a plane is about to lose lift or go into an aerodynamic stall, Boeing has a responsibility to ensure that its products do not have any design flaws.
Although we need to be patient and wait for the first results of the investigation to get some indication of what happened, the CAAC’s action is not a case of jumping to conclusions based on very few facts. It is right to exercise caution and consult with the US company to ensure the safety of the planes as nothing is more important than human life.