Indonesia allows Boeing 737 MAX, plane at centre of fatal Lion Air crash, back in its skies

Name: Indonesian families wait for clues as search for crashed Boeing 737 continues in Java Sea
Uploaded: 2021-12-28T08:45:11.000Z
Duration: 2 min 13 s
Description: Indonesian families wait for clues as search for crashed Boeing 737 continues in Java Sea

A crash involving a 737 MAX operated by Lion Air killed 189 people in October 2018. Investigations revealed design flaws in the flight-control systems

Indonesia joins its neighbours Malaysia and Singapore in resuming use of the aircraft. It also has been cleared in most other major markets

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A Boeing 737 MAX aeroplane lands after a test flight at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington, in June last year. Photo: Reuters

Bloomberg

Published: 4:45pm, 28 Dec 2021

Indonesia became the latest country to allow Boeing’s 737 MAX planes back in its skies, joining Ethiopia in lifting the ban on the aircraft that crashed in both countries more than two years ago.

The transport ministry will let airlines resume flying the aircraft in its territories after completion of the investigation process and improvements made to the plane’s system, Director General of Air Transportation Novie Riyanto said in a statement on Tuesday.

Indonesia suffered the deadliest crash involving the jet in October 2018, which killed 189 people on board a Lion Air flight. The second crash in Ethiopia involving the same type of aircraft just five months later claimed 157 lives, leading to a worldwide grounding of the aircraft and subsequent investigations that revealed design flaws in the flight-control systems.

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Indonesian families wait for clues as search for crashed Boeing 737 continues in Java Sea

Indonesia joins its neighbours including Malaysia and Singapore in resuming use of the aircraft. Ethiopian Airlines Group plans to resume flying the jet from February 1. The Max was also cleared to fly by India on August 26.

The US and Brazil cleared it in late 2020, and were followed by other major markets including Europe. China – the first to ground the jet following the second crash in Ethiopia – still has not lifted its ban, though a test flight was conducted in the country in August.