March 12, 2019
NEW DELHI: India has joined a growing list of countries to order the new Boeing
737 Max 8 out of the air following the Ethiopian crash of Sunday which was reportedly caused by a malfunctioning of the jet's new flight control sofware system. (How the plane crashed? See video)
The other countries to take the new Boeing off service are Britain, France,
Germany, China, the Caribbeans, Argentina, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea,
Brazil, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Oman, Norway, Ireland, Turkey. China
has China Airlines, China Eastern and China Southern operating 97 such planes,
now off the air.
However, no American airline is stopping the services of the new Boeing Max
8. There are 350 Boeing 737 Max 8 jets currently flying worldwide.
Ehiopia has removed the four remaining Boeing 737 Max 8s from their fleet.
They had asked for 25 more such planes.
Indonesian Lion Air too said now after the latest crash they have put on hold
taking delivery of new jets they had ordered and suspended current services.
The airline operates 10 Max 8 jets. A Lion Air jet of same model Boeing had
met with a similar mishap last year in the Indonesian sea killing all 189 people
aboard.
Meanwhile, the flight data and cockpit voice recorders of the crashed plane
have been found but its analysis might take time to conclusively prove what
led to the disaster.
The Ethiopian Airlines plane carrying 149 passengers and a crew of eight had
crashed soon after takeoff from Addis Ababa on Sunday. There were no survivors
of flight ET302 from the Ethiopian Capital to Nairobi in Kenya. The dead included
four Indians. Several staff of the UN were also on board, who were going to
Nairobi to attend an environment conference.
The newly-purchased Boeing 737 Max-8 crashed six minutes after takeoff in
the morning. The pilot reportedly faced technical problems and had sought permission
to return, but crashed in nearby town of Bishoftu, 60 km south-east of the Capital.
Pilot Senior Captain Yared Getachew had long experience of faultless flying
to his credit and the Ethiopian Airline is also known for safety.
