New Delhi, Mar 14 (UNI) Boeing has recommended to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) the temporary suspension of operations of the entire global fleet of 371 737 MAX aircraft.
'Boeing continues to have full confidence in the safety of the 737 MAX. However, after consultation with the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and aviation authorities and its customers around the world, Boeing has determined -- out of an abundance of caution and in order to reassure the flying public of the aircraft’s safety -- to recommend to the FAA the temporary suspension of operations of the entire global fleet of 371 737 MAX aircraft,' it said in a statement here on Thursday.
On behalf of the entire Boeing team, Company president, CEO, Chairman Dennis Muilenburg extended deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones of those who have lost their lives in the two tragic accidents.
The plane suffered its first fatal accident in October, when a 737 Max 8 operated by Lion Air plunged into the Java Sea, killing 189 people.
The second deadly crash for a Max 8 on Sunday in Ethiopia, killed all 157 people on board.
'We are supporting this proactive step out of an abundance of caution. Safety is a core value at Boeing for as long as we have been building airplanes; and it always will be. There is no greater priority for our company and our industry. We are doing everything we can to understand the cause of the accidents in partnership with the investigators, deploy safety enhancements and help ensure this does not happen again,' the statement added.
Boeing made the recommendation and supported the decision by the FAA, it said.
Earlier, the FAA said in a statement that it is ordering the temporary grounding of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft (PDF) operated by US airlines or in US territory.
'The agency made this decision as a result of the data gathering process and new evidence collected at the site and analysed today. This evidence, together with newly refined satellite data available to FAA this morning, led to this decision,' the agency said.
The grounding will remain in effect pending further investigation, including examination of information from the aircraft’s flight data recorders and cockpit voice recorders, the FAA said, adding that 'An FAA team is in Ethiopia assisting the NTSB as parties to the investigation of the Flight 302 accident. The agency will continue to investigate'.
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