My TakeChina’s air regulators made the right call
- China has been accused of exploiting the Ethiopian Airlines crash by grounding Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes less than a day after the accident
- It’s a bit of a stretch to link a decision based on safety to Beijing’s policy to promote the country’s nascent aviation industry
Everything is politicised these days. Even plane crashes are now cast in terms of China vs the United States!
Beijing had been criticised for grounding Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes too hastily in less than one day after the crash in Ethiopia which killed all 157 people on board.
Now, the US is drawing flak for being one of the last countries to ground the model. The Chinese side has been accused of exploiting the tragedy to promote its aviation industry and get back at the Americans.
Washington faces criticism that it was trying to protect one of America’s industrial jewels without regard to passenger safety. There was outrage that Boeing chief executive Dennis Muilenburg personally appealed to US President Donald Trump to keep its planes in the air.
Even Hong Kong’s Civil Aviation Department has been rounded on for being too slow in banning the plane model from our skies. Some critics think it was too beholden to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
There are long-established protocols to deal with aviation tragedies and independent experts and regulators to enforce them. But it seems people these days trust experts less and less, and prefer snap judgment.