UPDATE: Regulators ground the Boeing 737 Max 8, but not in Thailand
PHOTO: Thai Lion Air won’t be grounding their Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft
- The digital flight data recorder for Flight ET302 from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Nairobi, Kenya was located yesterday morning
- Citizens of 35 countries are among the 157 people killed, including 32 Kenyans, 18 Canadians, nine Ethiopians and eight passengers each from China, Italy and the US
- Multiple airlines have grounded Boeing’s 737 Max 8 aircraft
Singapore’s aviation regulators have now grounded the Boeing 737 Max 8. The Singaporean aviation authority has temporarily barred all variants of the 737 Max 8 from entering or leaving the city-state.
Along with Singapore, the following airlines and jurisdictions have announced they are temporarily not using the 737 Max 8: China, Indonesia, Ethiopian Airlines, Aeromexico, Cayman Airways, Comair Airways and Aerolíneas Argentinas.
Meanwhile, Thailand’s aviation regulator has scoffed at Chinese regulator’s lead in grounding the Chinese Boeing 737 Max 8. Only Thai Lion Air flies the now controversial aircraft in Thailand. The Chinese announcement yesterday morning was the first country to ground the aircraft following two ‘similar’ crashes within six months involving the same model airplane.
Chula Sukmanop, director-general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand says there is no need for such an order.
India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation says it would not ground the 737 Max 8s operating in the country. But it did announce a raft of interim safety and maintenance measures for airlines operating the Max8 model
Only two Indian carriers have 737 Max 8s in their fleets, Spicejet has 12 and Jet Airways has 5.
The news has already hit Boeing’s bottom line. The Seattle aircraft maker’s stock dropped 8% yesterday, with investors voicing concerns about Boeing’s future in China.
Ethiopian Airlines announced the plane’s Digital Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder were located and recovered yesterday morning. Both will provide vital information to help investigators piece together the flight’s last moments of the Ethiopian Airline’s crash.
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