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Update: President Trump has called for the grounding of all Boeing 737 MAX planes in the U.S., despite Boeing and the FAA’s earlier statements of confidence in the aircraft.
“The FAA is preparing to make an announcement very shortly regarding the new information and physical evidence that we’ve received from the [Ethiopia crash site] and from other locations and through a couple of other complaints,” Trump said. “We’ve had a very, very detailed group of people working on the 737 8 and the 737 9 new airplanes. We’re going to be issuing an emergency order of prohibition to ground all flights of the 737 MAX 8 and the 737 MAX 9 and planes associated with that line.
Trump stated that he had met Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, Acting Administrator of the FAA Dan Elwell and Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg, regarding the decision and all were in agreement about the decision.
Any 737 MAX planes currently in the air will continue to their destinations and then be grounded “effective immediately,” Trump said.
A representative for American Airlines confirmed to PEOPLE they are grounding the 24 MAX planes in their fleet “out of an abundance of caution” and working to rebook customers meant to be on those planes.
Countries around the world are grounding a controversial Boeing jet after it was involved in adeadly crash on Sunday. Here’s everything to know about the 737 MAX 8.
An Ethiopian Airlines flight operating the Boeing 737 MAX 8crashedshortly after takeoff this past weekend, killing all 157 passengers on board. It’s the second fatal crash involving this aircraft model in five months. In October, aLion Air flight went downoff the coast of Indonesia under similar circumstances, resulting in the deaths of 189 people. Both incidents are still under investigation.
Numerous airlines, including U.S. carriers likeAmerican and Southwest, use the 737 MAX 8for their flights. According to theFederal Aviation Administration, there are currently 74 MAX 8 and MAX 9 planes in operation in the U.S. and 387 worldwide.
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As of Tuesday morning, the U.S.’s regulatory agency, the FAA, has taken no similar action, declaring the “airworthiness” of the modelin a statementshared on Twitter on Tuesday.
Senator Mitt Romney implored the agency to ground the plane in the U.S. on Tuesday. “Out of an abundance of caution for the flying public, the @FAANews should ground the 737 MAX 8 until we investigate the causes of recent crashes and ensure the plane’s airworthiness,” the former presidential candidate tweeted.
President Trump also weighed in on the situation, saying he feels planes are now “too complex to fly.”
“Pilots are no longer needed, but rather computer scientists from MIT,” he wrote. “I see it all the time in many products. Always seeking to go one unnecessary step further, when often old and simpler is far better.”
Boeing is also standing behind the plane it created,writing in a statement, “we have full confidence in the safety of the 737 MAX.”
It continues, “We understand that regulatory agencies and customers have made decisions that they believe are most appropriate for their home markets. We’ll continue to engage with them to ensure they have the information needed to have confidence in operating their fleets.”
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A spokesperson for Boeing — which did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment — told theWashington Postvia email, “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 North American carriers who are continuing to fly their 787 MAX 8 planes include Southwest, American Airlines, Air Canada and WestJet. United does not have any MAX 8s in its fleet, but does fly the MAX 9. Delta does not fly any MAX models.
source: people.com
