Some countries and airlines have grounded the Boeing 737 Max 8 after a second crash involving the plane that killed 157 people — here’s who’s taken action so far (BA)

Boeing

• Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 crashed on Sunday, killing all 157 passengers on board.
• The crash had eerie similarities to the Lion Air crash in October, which was also a Boeing 737 Max 8.
• Some countries and airlines have grounded their entire Boeing 737 Max 8 fleets

The crash of Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 on Sunday, which killed all 157 passengers on board, was the second crash of a Boeing 737 Max in the last six months.

That’s forced some countries and airlines to halt their fleets while Boeing investigates if there’s any link between Ethiopia’s disaster and the crash of Lion Air flight 610, which plunged into the Java Sea 12 minutes after takeoff in October.

China

Boeing

China’s Aviation Authority said on Monday morning local time that it has issued a notice to ground all Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes used by domestic airlines in response to the recent Ethiopian Airlines crash which killed 157 people.

According to a statement posted to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC)’s website, the Ethiopian Airlines crash and the Lion Air crash have certain similarities that have caused concern over the Boeing aircraft.

A spokesperson for Boeing China told Business Insider: "Safety is our number one priority and we are taking every measure to fully understand all aspects of this accident, working closely with the investigating team and all regulatory authorities involved. The investigation is in its early stages, but at this point, based on the information available, we do not have any basis to issue new guidance to operators."

Indonesia

Flickr/Bathara Sakti

Indonesia’s air-safety regulator on Monday said it would halt all flights involving the planes starting Tuesday. The decision was reported Monday by Bloomberg and the Associated Press.

Cayman Airways

Cayman Airways said Sunday evening that it will ground its two 737’s until more information is received.

"While the cause of this sad loss is undetermined at this time, we stand by our commitment to putting the safety of our passengers and crew first by maintaining complete and undoubtable safe operations," Cayman Airways president and CEO Fabian Whorms said in a statement. 

"We offer our valued customers our continued assurance that all prudent and necessary actions required for the safe operation of our Max 8’s will be accomplished before the aircraft are returned to service," he said, adding that some relatively minor, but necessary schedule and capacity changes will be needed over the next few days to manage the flight schedule in instances where the national airline may be short on available aircraft," it continued. 

See Also:

• Indonesia is grounding all Boeing 737 Max 8 planes after a crash in Ethiopia killed 157 people
• Another Boeing 737MAX has crashed leaving no survivors. This time it was flying with Ethiopian Airlines.
• I drove a $69,000 RAM 1500 and a $57,000 Chevy Silverado to find out which is the better pickup truck. Here’s the verdict.

SEE ALSO: The black box from the crashed Ethiopian Airlines flight has been found

Source: Business Insider – grapier@businessinsider.com (Graham Rapier)