Trump GROUNDS Boeing 737 Max planes – effective immediately – after U.S. was left as only country in the world still flying them after Ethiopia disaster
- President Trump says he is grounding all U.S. flights on Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 planes ‘effective immediately’ in an emergency order of prohibition
- Any plane that is currently in the air will be allowed to land, and then the planes will be grounded until further notice, he said in a surprise announcement
- Trump made the decision following conversations with Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg and the acting FAA administrator
- Decision came after ‘new information’ and ‘physical evidence’ emerged on tragic incidents involving the planes
- ‘They are all in agreement with the action,’ Trump announced. ‘Planes that are in the air will be grounded, if they’re the 737 Max … upon landing at the destination’
- An Ethiopian Airlines flight that crashed Sunday, shortly after taking off from Addis Ababa, killed all 157 people on board the aircraft
- A Lion Air flight on a 737 Max 8 crashed in October in Indonesia, taking the lives of its 189 passengers and its crew
- American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines had not grounded Boeing 737 Max planes prior to Trump’s announcement
- Canada’s WestJet banned the Boeing Max from Canadian airspace Wednesday
- Airlines said they were confident of the safety of model despite fatal crashes
- At least 40 countries have banned the aircraft from flying for now
Source: Daily Mail