MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th March, 2019) Vietnam's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said on Monday that it would not grant licenses for Boeing 737 MAX aircraft until the investigation into the deadly crash of brand new aircraft of the same model in Ethiopia is completed.
The crash involving Ethiopian Airlines' Flight ET 302/10 occurred in the morning of March 10, minutes after the Nairobi-bound plane took off from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. All 157 people from over 30 countries who were on board the Boeing were killed. The causes of the accident are yet unknown. According to the airline, the plane was well-maintained.
"This morning, we had a meeting about this issue and came to the decision that we will not be reviewing licences for the use of Boeing 737 MAX planes until the causes for the crashes are identified and the US Federal Aviation Administration takes proper remedying measures," CAA chief Dinh Viet Thang said, as quoted by the Viet Nam news media outlet.
In 2016, Vietnam's budget-friendly Vietjet air carrier ordered 100 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. Most recently, the company signed a contract with Boeing for purchase of additional 100 MAX jets during US President Donald Trump's visit to Hanoi for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, increasing the total number of ordered aircraft to 200. Vietnam's Bamboo Airways low-cost operator is also reportedly interested in purchasing 25 737 MAX aircraft.
The latest catastrophe in Ethiopia is the second fatal incident involving the narrow-body aircraft in less than five months. In late October 2018, another Boeing 737 MAX 8, operated by Indonesia's Lion Air, plunged into the Java Sea shortly after take-off, claiming the lives of 189 people. According to the preliminary investigation, the plane's sensors were showing incorrect speed and altitude readings.
