Boeing jet grounded, banned as criticism grows
Much of the world, including the entire European Union, yesterday grounded the Boeing jetliner involved in the Ethiopian Airlines crash or banned it from their airspace, leaving the United States as one of the few remaining operators of the plane involved in two deadly accidents in just five months.
The European Aviation Safety Agency took steps to keep the Boeing 737 Max 8 out of the air, joining Asian and Middle Eastern governments and carriers that also gave in to safety concerns in the aftermath of Monday’s crash, which killed all 157 people on board.
Referring to the Lion Air crash in Indonesia that killed 189 people last year, European regulators said: ‘‘Similar causes may have contributed to both events.’’
Turkish Airlines, Oman Air, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Icelandair and South Korean airline Eastar Jet were among the latest carriers to halt use of the Boeing model. The United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Singapore suspended all flights into or out of their cities.
US-based Boeing has said it has no reason to pull the popular aircraft from the skies. It does not intend to issue new recommendations about the aircraft to customers.
Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg had spoken with US President Donald Trump and reiterated that the 737 Max 8 was safe, the company said.
Its technical team, meanwhile, joined American, Israeli, Kenyan and other aviation experts in the crash investigation led by Ethiopian authorities.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also backed the jet’s airworthiness and said it was reviewing all available data. It said it expected Boeing to complete improvements soon to an automated anti-stall system suspected of contributing to the Lion Air crash in October.
‘‘Thus far, our review shows no systemic performance issues and provides no basis to order grounding the aircraft,’’ acting FAA Administrator Daniel K Elwell said. ‘‘Nor have other civil aviation authorities provided data to us that would warrant action.’’
Some US airlines expressed support for the Boeing model, and American Airlines and Southwest were continuing to fly them.
Safety experts cautioned against drawing comparisons too soon with the Lion Air crash in October. But others in the US began pressing for action.
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents more than 26,000 flight attendants at American Airlines, called on CEO Doug Parker to ‘‘strongly consider grounding these planes until an investigation can be performed’’.
Consumer Reports called on airlines and the FAA to ground the jets until a thorough safety investigation was complete.
The FAA is facing mounting criticism for backing the airworthiness of Boeing’s 737 Max jets.
Oregon Democrat Congressman Peter DeFazio, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said yesterday he was concerned that international aviation regulators were providing more certainty to the flying public than the FAA.
The FAA had increasingly become cosy with airplane manufacturers and airlines when it should be more proactive about safety, said Bill McGee, aviation adviser for Consumer Reports.
‘‘Increasingly, the FAA is relying more and more on what the industry calls electronic surveillance,’’ said McGee, who has written about aviation for nearly two decades. ‘‘Not going out and kicking the tyres, seeing the work being done, making sure it’s being done properly.’’
Former transportation secretary Ray LaHood also called for the US to ground the 737 Max, just as his agency grounded the Boeing 787 in 2013 because of overheating lithium-ion battery packs. –AP