WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th March, 2019) The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) should ground all Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft operating in the United States following a deadly crash involving a jet of the same model that killed 157 people in Ethiopia on Sunday, US Senator Dianne Feinstein said in letter to the FAA Acting Administrator Daniel Elwell.
"Until the cause of the crash is known and it's clear that similar risks aren't present in the domestic fleet, I believe all Boeing 737 Max 8 series aircraft operating in the United States should be temporarily grounded," Feinstein said in the letter on Monday.
Earlier in the day, the FAA said it will notify international carriers of the aircraft's continued airworthiness.
Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenberg in a message to employees confirmed stated his confidence in the safety of the 737 MAX airplanes.
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.
