'No basis' to ground Boeing 737 MAX, says US regulator
What's the story
The US aviation regulator said yesterday that there is "no basis" for grounding Boeing's 737 MAX aircraft, one of which was involved in a crash in Ethiopia that killed 157 people on Sunday. "Thus far, our review shows no systemic performance issues and provides no basis to order grounding the aircraft," Federal Aviation Administration chief Daniel Elwell said in a statement. Here's more.
Details
Same Boeing model crashed in Indonesia last year killing 189
Elwell said, "Nor have other civil aviation authorities provided data to us that would warrant action." A new Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX 8 went down minutes into a flight from Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) to Nairobi (Kenya) on Sunday. That followed the October crash of a new Lion Air jet of the same model in Indonesia, which killed 189 people shortly after takeoff from Jakarta.
Information
India joins China, Britain and others in grounding Boeing 737-Max
Despite Boeing's assurances that the plane is safe and reliable, the European Union, Britain and India joined China and other countries that either grounded the best-selling plane or banned it from their airspace as they await the investigation into the crash.
Statement
Will take 'immediate, appropriate action' if needed: FAA
"In the course of our urgent review of data on the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash, if any issues affecting the continued airworthiness of the aircraft are identified, the FAA will take immediate and appropriate action," the FAA said. It told the international civil aviation authorities that it'll order Boeing to modify its 737 MAX 8 aircraft, including anti-stalling software and maneuvering system updates.