Airlines worldwide ground Boeing jets
Ethiopian Airlines disaster the second in six months involving a 737 MAX 8
More than a dozen airlines around the world grounded some of Boeing’s newest jets Monday as investigators pored over the shattered remains of an Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed all 157 people aboard.
The U.S.-based aircraft builder and the National Transportation Safety Board sent teams to the crash site to help determine why the Nairobibound Boeing 737 MAX 8 nosedived to the ground Sunday minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. Michael Raynor, the U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia, visited the site Monday and said the NTSB team would arrive early Tuesday. The airline said the “black box” voice and data recorders had been found.
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement Monday afternoon that it was working with the NTSB to gather information. The agency also said it would assess any safety concerns with the Boeing 737 MAX 8 and will take “immediate and appropriate action” if problems are found.
The plane’s senior pilot, identified as Yared Getachew, issued a distress call moments after takeoff and was told to return to the airport, the airline said. All contact was lost shortly afterward. A witness said smoke was coming from the rear of the plane before it hit the ground. Tamrat Abera told the Associated Press the plane rotated twice before crashing and exploding.
The plane was delivered to the airline in November and had flown only 1,200 hours. The plane underwent a “rigorous” maintenance check Feb. 4. Getachew had more than 8,000 flight hours of experience, the airline said.
The crash came less than five months after an Indonesian Lion Air 737 MAX 8 plunged into the Java Sea, killing all 189 aboard. Both flights experienced drastic speed fluctuations on ascent, and both pilots had tried to return to the airport after takeoff.
As a result, the MAX 8 and its anti-stall system are drawing renewed scrutiny. The plane uses a system called MCAS – Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System – to stabilize the aircraft in flight. If sensors feed faulty data to the MCAS, the system can force the aircraft into a dive, according to a Boeing service bulletin Nov. 6. Data from the Lion Air crash showed pilots repeatedly tried to get the nose up.
Boeing issued a statement saying it would assist the Ethiopia Accident Investigation Bureau and the NTSB.
Ethiopia, China and Indonesia grounded their Boeing 737 MAX 8s on all airlines. Some airlines in India and South Korea also grounded them, and Cayman Airways parked its two MAX 8s.
U.S. carriers Southwest and American fly the plane, and both expressed confidence in their fleets. Southwest, which has 34 of the planes and is adding more, said on Twitter that the airline had flown 31,000 flights on 737 MAX planes and plans on “operating those aircraft going forward.”
United Airlines doesn’t fly the MAX 8 but does count 14 MAX 9s in its fleet.
“If you prefer not to fly on one we completely understand and will do what is best in our capabilities to find alternative travel arrangements,” United told a concerned customer on Twitter.
The victims came from 35 countries. Ethiopia declared a national day of mourning, and the U.N. flag flew at halfstaff. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the dead included at least 21 U.N. staff members along with others who worked with the organization.