More airlines ground Boeing jetliner
Country regulators voice concerns over safety after Ethiopia Airlines jet crash
A growing number of countries have grounded Boeing’s 737 MAX 8 medium-haul workhorse jet in response to the Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed all 157 people on board.
The Nairobi-bound plane was the same type as the Indonesian Lion Air jet that crashed in October, killing 189 passengers and crew — and some officials have detected similarities between the two accidents.
There are some 350 of the 737 MAX 8 planes currently in service around the world. While some countries and airlines have opted to ground the planes, others are continuing to fly the aircraft pending an investigation into the crash and possible guidance from Boeing itself.
Boeing, which has sent experts to assist in the Ethiopia probe, says safety is its “number one priority“.
South African airline Comair said it had “decided to remove its 737 MAX from its flight schedule“.
Singapore’s aviation regulator on Tuesday completely banned the use of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in the country’s airspace.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore said it was “temporarily suspending operation of all variants of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft into and out of Singapore” in light of the two recent accidents.
Beijing on Monday ordered domestic airlines to suspend operation of the Boeing 737 MAX 8, citing the two crashes.
Noting “similarities” between the two incidents, China’s Civil Aviation Administration said operation of the model would only resume after “confirming the relevant measures to effectively ensure flight safety“.
China is a hugely important market for the US aircraft company, accounting for about onefifth of worldwide deliveries of Boeing 737 MAX models.
Indonesia said it was grounding its 11 jets of the 737 MAX 8 type.
Inspections of the aircraft were due to start on Tuesday and the planes would remain grounded until they were cleared by safety regulators, director-general of air transport Polana Pramesti said.
South Korea’s transport ministry said on Tuesday it had advised Eastar Jet, the nation’s only airline to operate Boeing 737 MAX 8s, to ground its two planes. The budget airline had agreed to suspend its use of the aircraft, starting on Wednesday, it added.
The Mongolian Civil Aviation Authority said on Facebook it had ordered the state carrie ,r MIAT Mongolian Airlines, to ground the sole Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft in its fleet.
Australia on Tuesday barred Boeing 737 MAX planes from its airspace. Fiji Airways is the only 737 MAX operator affected by the Australian ban, according to Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority, as Singapore-based SilkAir’s planes were already covered by the ban imposed by the city-state.
Ethiopian Airlines said on Monday that it had grounded its Boeing 737 MAX 8 fleet “until further notice“.
“Although we don’t yet know the cause of the accident, we have to decide to ground the particular fleet as an extra safety precaution,” said the stateowned carrier, Africa’s largest.
Cayman Airways CEO Fabian Whorms said it would suspend flights for its two 737 MAX 8 planes “until more information is received“.
Brazil’s Gol Airlines said it was temporarily suspending its commercial operations with the plane.
Aeromexico, which has six 737 MAX 8s in its fleet, announced that it was grounding the aircraft.
Argentina’s flagship carrier said late on Monday that it had suspended the operation of its five 737 MAX 8s pending the result of investigations into the crash of the Ethiopian Airlines plane. Earlier its pilots had refused to fly the jet.
Boeing, which has sent experts to assist in the Ethiopia probe, said safety is its “number one priority“. “The investigation is in its early stages, but at this point, based on the information available, we do not have any basis to issue new guidance to operators,” the US manufacturer said.
The US Federal Aviation Administration said it would take “immediate” action if there were safety concerns. Southwest Airlines, which operates 34 of the 737 MAX 8 planes, said: “We remain confident in the safety and airworthiness of our fleet of more than 750 Boeing aircraft.” A person with knowledge of the matter told said American Airlines planned to continue operating its two dozen 737 MAX 8s.
Russian airline S7 said it was closely following the crash investigation and was in contact with Boeing, but had received no instructions to stop flying the 737 MAX 8.
The CEO of Turkish Airlines, which flies 11 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, said in a tweet that the carrier would fly the planes as scheduled, adding that the airline was in touch with Boeing and that passenger security was paramount.
Air Italy said it would follow all directives “to ensure the maximum level of safety and security“. In the meantime, the planes remained in the air.
Icelandair operates three Boeing 737 MAX 8s. Its operations chief told Frettabladid newspaper it would be “premature” to link the crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia together. This could change depending on the outcome of an ongoing probe but “for now, there is no reason to fear these machines“. Norwegian Air Shuttle, which operates 18 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, said it would keep them in the air.
Airline Flydubai said it was “monitoring the situation” and it was “confident in the airworthiness of our fleet“.
Oman Air said it was in contact with Boeing “to understand if there are any implications for other airlines operating the same model“.
India’s aviation regulator said it had imposed additional “interim” safety requirements for ground engineers and crew for the aircraft, but did not order their grounding.
Boeing statement: the investigation is in its early stages, but at this point, we do not have any basis to issue new guidance to operators