WASHINGTON, March 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) – US regulators ordered Boeing to make urgent improvements to the best-selling jet involved in a deadly Ethiopia plane crash — but ruled out grounding the fleet as investigators worked to piece together the aircraft’s final moments.
The Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashed minutes into a flight to Nairobi on Sunday, killing all 157 people on board and prompting airlines across the world to begin withdrawing the model from schedules.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it was working with local authorities and the National Transportation Safety Board and may soon share safety information concerning the aircraft.
“If we identify an issue that affects safety, the FAA will take immediate and appropriate action,” it said in a statement.
The FAA said it was ordering Boeing to make improvements to anti-stalling software and the maneuvering system, giving the company until the end of April to make the updates.
Investigators have recovered the black box flight recorders from the airliner, which went down near Addis Ababa, just six minutes after takeoff, as the pilot alerted controllers of “difficulties.”
There were passengers and crew from 35 countries on board, including some two dozen UN staff. Ethiopia decreed Monday a day of national mourning.
The aircraft was the same type of jet as the Indonesian Lion Air plane that crashed in October, killing 189 passengers and crew.
Not since the 1970s — when the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 had successive fatal incidents — has a new model been involved in two deadly accidents in such a short period.
The FAA acknowledged that the crashes were being linked in media reports but said the investigation had “just begun” and so far no data had been provided to “draw any conclusions or take any actions.”
Airlines in Brazil, China, Ethiopia, Indonesia, South Africa, Mexico and other countries said they were suspending operations of their 737 MAX 8 fleets. Pilots from Argentina’s Aerolinas Argentinas have refused to fly the aircraft.
The move caused Boeing shares to tumble around 12 percent earlier in the day, before recovering about half its losses by the close of the trading day.
The company said it was sending a technical team to the crash site and will work with Ethiopian and US regulators to determine the cause.
“The investigation is in its early stages, but at this point, based on the information available, we do not have any basis to issue new guidance to operators,” Boeing said.
The plane that crashed on Sunday was less than four months old. Ethiopian Airlines said it was delivered on Nov 15. The airline grounded its fleet of six remaining Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes.
Some airlines said they were not canceling MAX 8 flights, including Oman Air, flydubai, Turkish Airlines and Russia’s S7.
US airlines also appeared to remain confident in the manufacturer, and Canadian officials said they will not ground the three aircraft in use by domestic carriers.
Boeing has described the MAX series as its fastest-selling airplane ever, with more than 5,000 orders placed to date from about 100 customers.
State-owned Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s largest carrier, had ordered 30 MAX 8 jets in total, and China has received 76 from an order of 180. — NNN-AGENCIES
