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Wednesday 13 March 2019

Would you risk flying on a Boeing 737 Max 8 right now?

UPDATE: Boeing grounds its Max aircraft worldwide

It's midnight in Manhattan, this is no time to get cute - Bruce Springsteen

Two fatal crashes in quick succession but the Boeing aircraft company cannot resist the opportunity to get cute in its press releases.

In October 2018, a Lion Air Boeing Max 7 plane crashed in the Java Sea off Indonesia, killing 189 people.

This week, an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing Max 7 crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa, killing all 157 people on board. 




And today it was revealed that pilots on two US flights previously reported that an automated system seemed to cause their Boeing 737 Max planes to tilt down suddenly.


The pilots said that soon after engaging the autopilot on Boeing 737 Max 8 planes, the nose tilted down sharply. In both cases, they recovered quickly after disconnecting the autopilot.
Aircraft manufacturers Boeing, who made a $10.6 billion profit last financial year, and the civil aviation authorities in the US and Canada, have failed to follow authorities around the world in banning the aircraft until safety checks have been completed.

US Federal Aviation Authority administrator Daniel Elwell said the FAA was "monitoring data" and the performance of the 737s, and saw no basis yet to stop them from flying in the US.

Boeing, too, is happy for its planes to continue to fly.

"Safety is Boeing's number one priority and we have full confidence in the safety of the MAX," Boeing said in a statement.

"We understand that regulatory agencies and customers have made decisions that they believe are most appropriate for their home markets. It is also important to note that the Federal Aviation Administration is not mandating any further action at this time, and based on the information currently available, we do not have any basis to issue new guidance to operators." 

Two US airlines flying the 737 Max 8 - American Airlines and Southwest - say they will continue to fly the planes. In my opinion no sensible flyer would opt to fly on one of these aircraft until copious checks have been taken.

But when it comes to money, self-interest wins out over safety every time.

Australia's Virgin Airlines, which has 30 of the planes on order, says it is taking a "wait and see" approach.

It said it would not fly any new Boeing 737 Max 8s until it was completely satisfied with the plane’s safety.


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