Breaking with China, US declares Boeing 737 MAX 8 airworthy in wake of Ethiopia disaster
- The Federal Aviation Administration announcement signals that US regulators have no immediate intention of grounding the aircraft
- But more than 100 of Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes have been grounded outside the US, about one-third of the global fleet
The United States has told international carriers that the Federal Aviation Administration believes the Boeing 737 MAX 8 is airworthy as they scrutinise two fatal crashes of the new model of aircraft since October – but emphasised they will “take immediate action” if regulators identify any safety issue.
The statement signals that US regulators have no immediate intention of grounding the aircraft, breaking with China’s decision to tell its airlines to suspend use of the plane after Sunday’s crash that killed 157 people near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian Airlines MAX 8 bound for Nairobi crashed minutes after take-off, raising questions about the safety of the new variant of the Boeing workhorse, one of which also crashed and killed 189 people in Indonesia in October.
The FAA issued a Continued Airworthiness Notification to the International Community for Boeing 737 MAX 8 operators at 5pm on Monday, Eastern time.
“If the FAA identifies an issue that affects safety, the department will take immediate and appropriate action,” US Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said on Monday ahead of the notification. “I want people to be assured that we take these incidents, these accidents very seriously.”