China And Ethiopia Ground Boeing 737MAX Fleets After Second Crash In Five Months
China grounds its 737 MAX fleet after latest-gen Boeing jet suffers 2nd crash in 5 months
March 11, 2019
Chinese airlines have been ordered to ground their Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes, after the modern jet suffered a second fatal crash in just five months – with its aviation watchdog noting disturbing similarities between the incidents.
“Given that two accidents both involved newly delivered Boeing 737-8 planes and happened during take-off phase, they have some degree of similarity,” the Civil Aviation Administration of China said Monday, emphasizing its principle of zero-tolerance on any safety hazards.
All Chinese domestic airlines were requested to suspend operation of the 737-8s by 6:00pm local time (10:00am GMT) and, according to local media and flight tracking resources, on most routes the jet has already been replaced with older-generation planes.
With the first 737 MAX crash in late October still under investigation, the tragedy on Sunday that claimed 157 lives might well have been a coincidence, but security concerns and the potential grounding of the entire MAX fleet would severely impact Boeing’s business. A Boeing spokesman declined Reuters’ request for a comment.
Chinese carriers account for about 20 percent of the plane’s sales, with dozens of Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets already in operation and many more scheduled for delivery. China Southern Airlines Co. has the biggest fleet, with 16 of the aircraft, while Air China Ltd. currently operates 14 jets. China Eastern Airlines Corp. has 13.
‘Some degree of similarity’
While the US manufacturer continues to emphasize the jet’s “unmatched reliability” and to market MAX 8 as the customer’s preferred choice for “comfortable flying experience,” the latest generation Boeing 737 has a gloomy track record since its commercial debut in 2017, having been involved in two fatal crashes in the last five months.
On October 29, 2018, a two-months-old jet belonging to Indonesian low-cost airline Lion Air crashed into the Java Sea, just 13 minutes after takeoff from Jakarta. All 189 on board died. The cause of the crash is still under investigation, but early reports indicate that the pilots struggled to control the climb due to an autopilot system malfunction, which kept on forcing the jet’s nose to dive.
A similar fate was suffered by Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 on Sunday when its 737 MAX 8 crashed some six minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa en route to Nairobi, Kenya. The aircraft was only four months old. All 149 passengers and eight crew members on board died.
The tragedy of a truly international magnitude on Sunday killed three Russians, eight Americans, four Indians and eight Chinese citizens – in addition to 18 Canadians, 32 Kenyans, eight Italians, nine Ethiopians, six Egyptians, three Australians, four Slovaks and five Dutch persons. Morocco and Poland each lost two of its nationals. Among the passengers were 19 UN Workers representing different nationalities.
While Boeing has sent an investigative team to get to the bottom of the tragedy, Swedish flight-tracking website flightradar24 said the jet displayed an “unstable vertical speed” during its takeoff. Despite worldwide concerns over the aircraft’s safety, Boeing has yet to make a decision on whether to ground the planes globally, pending investigation. Currently 350 units of the 737 MAX have been delivered worldwide. Another 4,661 are planned for delivery.
‘Safety precaution’: Ethiopian Airlines grounds Boeing 737-8s after deadly crash
March 11, 2019
Ethiopian Airlines has announced it will temporarily stop operating Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes as a “safety precaution” following a crash that killed all 157 people – and hours after China ordered its carriers to ground their fleets.
“Although we don’t yet know the cause of the crash, we had to decide to ground the particular fleet as extra safety precaution,” the airline said.
The Ethiopian Airlines Group has four 737 MAX planes left in its fleet, and orders for an additional 25 placed with Boeing. The decision to ground the fleet until further notice came after Flight 302 crashed on Sunday morning, minutes after takeoff, killing everyone on board.
Concerned by similarities between two fatal incidents involving Boeing’s flagship plane during takeoffs, China’s Civil Aviation Administration also placed a temporary ban on MAX flights. Prior to Sunday’s tragedy, a two-month-old jet belonging to Indonesian low-cost airline Lion Air crashed into the Java Sea, killing all 189 on board. The cause of both crashes is still under investigation.
Boeing cancels 777X launch event after Ethiopian Airlines’ MAX 8 crash
March 11, 2019
The ceremonial debut of Boeing’s 777x wide body aircraft, planned for March 13 in Seattle, will be postponed indefinitely, the company said, following the second deadly accident in just five months involving its 737 Max 8 plane.
“We will look for an opportunity to mark the new plane with the world in the near future,” Boeing said in a statement Sunday night, emphasizing that at the moment the company was focused on “supporting” Ethiopian Airlines in the wake of the tragic air accident, which claimed 157 lives.
The unveiling ceremony at Boeing’s Everett Factory was supposed to be attended by top executives and numerous honored guests, who were more-than-eager to see the presentation of the “largest and most efficient twin-engine jet in the world.”
Designed to build on the success of the 777 and 787 Dreamliner series, the plane is being assembled to replace the current generation of retiring 747 fleets. Production of the first 777X test model began in 2017, with first deliveries scheduled for next year. Once operational, the plane is expected to sell for at least $360.5 million.
Boeing’s plans, however, were thrown into disarray on Sunday, when Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed just six minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa en route to Nairobi, Kenya. All 157 people on board, mostly foreigners, were killed in the incident. Following the tragedy, Boeing announced that it will dispatch an investigative team to the crash site to provide technical assistance. The 737 MAX was only four-months-old when the jet allegedly demonstrated “unstable vertical speed” during its takeoff. The official cause of the crash is not yet known.
Sunday’s disaster was the second recorded crash of the brand new Boeing narrow-body aircraft. In October, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 operated by Lion Air crashed minutes after taking off from Jakarta, Indonesia, killing all 189 passengers and crew. That crash is also under investigation.
Despite the cancelation of the inauguration ceremony, the 777X’s development program will proceed on-schedule, the company said.
