After the fatal accident, airlines stop flying with the controversial Boeing | Chronic

By Gustavo Grimaldi

The second tragedy in five months, involving a Boeing 737 Max 8, has an impact not only on the manufacturer itself, but also on the airlines whose model matches their fleet.

Companies from four countries (China, Indonesia, Mongolia and Ethiopia) had already decided to leave the machines on the ground and Aerolineas Argentinas decided to follow the same path in the last few hours. The company's sources ensured that the decision was made after the joint badysis with ANAC, the country's aviation regulator.

At present, the flag company is the only one in the country to use this equipment. He currently has five 737 Max 8s in his fleet of 82 aircraft. It offers cabotage routes and international routes such as Rio de Janeiro, San Pablo and Punta Cana.

In the airlines, they said they were closely monitoring ongoing investigations to determine the causes of the plane crash in Ethiopia. And he stays in constant contact with Boeing. He is also attentive to the badysis performed by the United States Regulatory Authority (Federal Aviation Administration), as the certifier of the aircraft of American origin referred to. Both Boeing and the FAA are issuing concrete recommendations that are extended to all airlines operating the model.

The company explained that, until receiving technical reports from these organizations and entities, it had provisionally suspended the operation of the aforementioned aircraft. In addition, he said that pbadengers on regular trips aboard 737 MAX 8 will be relocated in different models from the rest of the fleet.

The air banner was the first in Latin America to use this model. The first arrived in Ezeiza in November 2017. The second was presented on January 10, 2018 with a baptism flight to Mar del Plata. A few days later, he joined the third, who made a stop at Punta Cana and arrived at Ezeiza. The fourth was presented in March in Mendoza. And the fleet was completed in July 2018 with an inaugural flight to Bariloche. The company made 7,550 flights with these machines.

Doubts about the safety of the Boeing 737 Max 8 began after last October, another aircraft of this type from the company Lion Air sank in the Java Sea 12 minutes after taking off from Jakarta, killing 189 people.

Suspicions were further heightened last Sunday when another 737 Ethiopian Airlines' Max 8 pbadengers crashed shortly after taking off from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to Nairobi, Kenya. The airline has confirmed that none of the 149 pbadengers and eight crew members survived the accident.

According to the Boeing website, 69 airlines around the world use these planes, many of which are frequented by Argentineans such as GOL, Copa Airlines, American Airlines, United Airlines, Norwegian, Aeromexico and Air Europa.

Walk back

Yesterday afternoon, when Aerolíneas announced its intention to continue using the machines, the Pilots' Union (APLA), led by Pablo Biró, gave its workers the mandate not to intervene on available flights with the fleet. Boeing 737 Max airlines. This organization also decided to require both the flag company and the ANAC authorities preventive measures providing absolute security for the safety of crews and pbadengers. The company took note of the union's dissatisfaction and decided to change its main decision during the last hours of the day.