Indonesia grounds all Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets over safety concerns
Indonesia, alongside China and Ethiopia, has grounded all Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft following the Ethiopian Airlines crash on March 10 that killed all 157 people on board.
The accident took place roughly five months after the same type of aircraft belonging to Indonesia’s Lion Air crashed into the Java Sea, killing all passengers and crew members.
Lion Air and Garuda currently operate Boeing’s MAX models, with Lion Air using ten MAX 8 and two MAX 9 planes. Garuda has only received one of the 50 MAX-series aircraft it ordered.
Indonesian and US aviation authorities have raised the possibility that the Lion Air crash happened because of pilots fighting an automated anti-stall software in the MAX model that may have been erroneously activated by incorrect flight data.
Indonesian authorities said that contact with Flight JT610 was lost after 13 minutes and that the captain reported a “flight control problem.” Pilots flying the same plane a day earlier had experienced a similar problem, Indonesian authorities said.
There seem to be similarities to the Ethiopian Airline crash as this plane was reported to have had an “unstable trajectory” after takeoff. The captain reported “difficulties” and asked to return to the airport but then the plane was lost from the radar and came down.
The 737 MAX 8 is a new series of planes and Boeing’s successor to the 737-800, one of the workhorses of civil aviation; it has been in commercial service for only 22 months, since the first one was flown by Malindo Air, a subsidiary of Lion Air, in May 2017.
Also noting the “similarities” between the two accidents, China’s Civil Aviation Administration ordered domestic airlines to ground all 737 MAX 8 aircraft. It said operation of the model will only resume after “confirming the relevant measures to effectively ensure flight safety,” the administration said in a statement.
Chinese airlines have 96 737 MAX jets in service, the state company regulator said. The aviation authority will contact the US Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing for consultation, it said.
Ethiopian Airlines followed China’s announcement by grounding all of its Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft as well, according to a spokesperson. Ethiopian Airlines was using five new 737 MAX 8 planes and was awaiting delivery of 25 more.
Cayman Airways, which also flies two Boeing 737 MAX 8 craft, also announced it would ground the planes while the investigation into the crash in Ethiopia takes place. SpiceJet and Jet Airways, two Indian carriers who fly the jet, are yet to publicly comment on whether they will ground their fleet of the aircraft.
Update: As of March 13, the plane type has been grounded – either by national authorities or by individual airlines – also in Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Mexico, India, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Russia, Lebanon, Morocco, South Africa, Oman, UAE, Kuwait, Turkey, Iceland and the entire European Union.
Indonesia, alongside China and Ethiopia, has grounded all Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft following the Ethiopian Airlines crash on March 10 that killed all 157 people on board. The accident took place roughly five months after the same type of aircraft belonging to Indonesia’s Lion Air crashed into the Java Sea, killing all passengers and crew members. Lion Air and Garuda currently operate Boeing’s MAX models, with Lion Air using ten MAX 8 and two MAX 9 planes. Garuda has only received one of the 50 MAX-series aircraft it ordered. Indonesian and US aviation authorities have raised the possibility that...
Indonesia, alongside China and Ethiopia, has grounded all Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft following the Ethiopian Airlines crash on March 10 that killed all 157 people on board.
The accident took place roughly five months after the same type of aircraft belonging to Indonesia’s Lion Air crashed into the Java Sea, killing all passengers and crew members.
Lion Air and Garuda currently operate Boeing’s MAX models, with Lion Air using ten MAX 8 and two MAX 9 planes. Garuda has only received one of the 50 MAX-series aircraft it ordered.
Indonesian and US aviation authorities have raised the possibility that the Lion Air crash happened because of pilots fighting an automated anti-stall software in the MAX model that may have been erroneously activated by incorrect flight data.
Indonesian authorities said that contact with Flight JT610 was lost after 13 minutes and that the captain reported a “flight control problem.” Pilots flying the same plane a day earlier had experienced a similar problem, Indonesian authorities said.
There seem to be similarities to the Ethiopian Airline crash as this plane was reported to have had an “unstable trajectory” after takeoff. The captain reported “difficulties” and asked to return to the airport but then the plane was lost from the radar and came down.
The 737 MAX 8 is a new series of planes and Boeing’s successor to the 737-800, one of the workhorses of civil aviation; it has been in commercial service for only 22 months, since the first one was flown by Malindo Air, a subsidiary of Lion Air, in May 2017.
Also noting the “similarities” between the two accidents, China’s Civil Aviation Administration ordered domestic airlines to ground all 737 MAX 8 aircraft. It said operation of the model will only resume after “confirming the relevant measures to effectively ensure flight safety,” the administration said in a statement.
Chinese airlines have 96 737 MAX jets in service, the state company regulator said. The aviation authority will contact the US Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing for consultation, it said.
Ethiopian Airlines followed China’s announcement by grounding all of its Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft as well, according to a spokesperson. Ethiopian Airlines was using five new 737 MAX 8 planes and was awaiting delivery of 25 more.
Cayman Airways, which also flies two Boeing 737 MAX 8 craft, also announced it would ground the planes while the investigation into the crash in Ethiopia takes place. SpiceJet and Jet Airways, two Indian carriers who fly the jet, are yet to publicly comment on whether they will ground their fleet of the aircraft.
Update: As of March 13, the plane type has been grounded – either by national authorities or by individual airlines – also in Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Mexico, India, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Russia, Lebanon, Morocco, South Africa, Oman, UAE, Kuwait, Turkey, Iceland and the entire European Union.
