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Finally, US too grounds B737 Max 8

Boeing is an incredible company, says Trump

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Thursday, March 14, 2019

Finally, USA’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is ordering the temporary grounding of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft operated by U.S. airlines or in U.S. territory.

“The agency made this decision as a result of the data gathering process and new evidence collected at the site and analyzed today. This evidence, together with newly refined satellite data available to FAA this morning, led to this decision,” the FAA said while adding that the grounding will remain in effect pending further investigation, including examination of information from the aircraft’s flight data recorders and cockpit voice recorders.

More than 40 countries have grounded the 737 Max 8 after it was involved in two deadly crashes, one in Indonesia last October and the more recent one in Ethiopia.

However, the US Federal Aviation Administration allowed the plane to fly, and the Trump administration was criticized for putting Boeing’s well-being over the safety of American passengers.

On Wednesday, Trump finally bowed to pressure from the international community and US lawmakers from both parties by announcing the temporary ban.

“Boeing is an incredible company,” Trump said in a briefing to reporters. “They are working very, very hard right now, and hopefully they’ll quickly come up with the answer. But until they do, the planes are grounded.”

Last October, Lion Air Flight 610 crashed off the coast of Indonesia, and all 189 passengers on board were killed. That investigation is ongoing, but it has focused on the Max 8’s stall-prevention system, apparent maintenance lapses, and potential pilot error. The cause of the Ethiopian Airlines crash last Sunday is unknown, but investigators have recovered the flight and data recorders. The Ethiopian Airlines crash killed 157 people.

In incident reports that surfaced this week, pilots had reported that the Max 8 jetliner would tilt suddenly after takeoff, among other concerns. But Boeing has said it still has confidence in the 737 Max 8.

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