Boeing 737 Max: China and Ethiopia suspend flights and the United States take action

The Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC) and the airline Ethiopian Airlines has suspended the use of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 model after the air tragedy It was produced Sunday, during which one of these planes crashed and caused the death of 157 people. As a market response to uncertainty, Boeing's shares started the day on Wall Street with a fall of up to 12%, the largest since the September 11 attacks in the United States.

Some airlines have announced that they will not cancel the flights of their MAX 8 aircraft, including Oman Air, Flydubai, Turkish Airlines and Russia S7.

Chinese aeronautics authority said in a press release that it was "the second largest air crash with the Boeing 737-8 Accident of the Indonesian airline Lion Air October 29 ", which resulted in 189 deaths.The agency said the two cases have similarities, as they occurred during the takeoff phase of the recently delivered aircraft, and motivated the commercial suspension of the aircraft "in line with the principle of zero tolerance for security risks ".

Ethiopia tragedy zone: 157 dead after crash of Boeing 737

Chinese airlines have 96 of these planes in service – more than a quarter of the world fleet – with at least 29 international and cabotage flights canceled this Monday. Airlines changed aircraft in 256 other scheduled flights.

At the same time, the airline Ethiopian Airlines also decided to decommission the entire B-737-8 MAX fleet from the tragedy of March 10 until further notice. According to the company, although the cause of the accident is still unknown, they made the decision "as Additional security precaution"

The African airline announced Monday that the two black boxes were recovered. The Executive Director of Ethiopian Airlines, Tewolde GebreMariam, said at a press conference that the pilot ET 302 had reported technical difficulties and asked for permission to return in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.

The pilots of Aerolíneas Argentinas refuse to fly the Boeing 737 MAX

United States, ready to take "immediate" measures

US authorities on Monday ordered Boeing to make urgent improvements to its best-selling aircraft involved in the deadly crash in Ethiopia, but ruled out paralyzing the fleet while investigators were working on rebuilding the last moments of the plane. The US Federal Aviation Administration said it was working with local authorities and the National Transportation Safety Board and that it could soon share information on the safety of the aircraft.

"If we identify a problem that affects security, the FAA will take immediate and appropriate action," he said in a statement. The FAA also indicated that it was leaving Boeing until the end of April to improve its control and maneuvering system. The investigators found the recordings of the black boxes of the aircraft, which fell near Addis Ababa, just six minutes after takeoff, after the pilot had alerted the "difficulties" of the controllers.

Chinese, Ethiopian, South African, Indonesian, South Korean, Brazilian, Argentinean, Mexican and other airlines announced Monday the suspension of their 737 MAX 8 fleet.

Since the 1970s, when McDonnell Douglas DC-10 had several fatalities, no new model has been involved in two fatal accidents over such a short period. The FAA stated that the investigation "had just started" and that no data had been provided so far to "draw conclusions or take action".

The tragedy has aroused the concern of investors. Boeing shares sold more than 12% after opening on Wall Street on Mondaybut then recovered half of his losses at the end of the day. The company said it was sending a technical team to the crash site and that it would work with Ethiopian and American regulators to determine the cause.

The plane that crashed on Sunday was less than four months old. Ethiopian Airlines said that it had been delivered on November 15. The airline paralyzed its remaining fleet of six Boeing 737 MAX 8. Beijing on Monday called on Chinese airlines to suspend the flights of these aircraft, which will resume operations when the US authorities and Boeing confirm "the measures taken to ensure security , informed the Chinese Administration of Civil Aviation.

US airlines also seem to continue to trust the builder, and Canadian authorities have stated that they would not prohibit the use of the three aircraft used for domestic flights.

Local situation Aerolineas Argentinas currently has five planes Boeing 737 MAX Model 8. The Airline Pilots Association (APLA) reported today having sent a letter to the owner of the National Administration of Civil Aviation (ANAC), Tomás Insausti ", following the l & # 39; inaction of ANAC after the accident of flight 302 of Ethiopian Airlines ".

From the APLA they added: "we asked for concrete measures soon, so that the ANAC absolutely tolerates any factor that could compromise risking the lives of crews and pbadengers"The central airline has not yet set an official position on the model in the face of recent events.

M.D.L. / D.S.