Boeing suspends entire aircraft fleet after fatal Ethiopian Airlines crash

Boeing has suspended its entire fleet of 737 Max aircraft after investigators discovered new evidence at the scene of the fatal Ethiopian Airlines crash that occurred March 10.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the decision to temporarily ban the jets was made based on fresh evidence and newly refined satellite data.

While the FAA team is currently investigating the disaster at the Ethiopian Airlines crash site and working with the National Transportation Safety Board, the US and Brazil became the latest countries to suspend the Boeing 737 Max from flying, after nations including the UK, China, India and Australia all grounded the aircraft.

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Dennis Muilenburg, president, chief executive and chairman of Boeing, said: “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.”

President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, Sara Nelson said:

“Lives must come first always. But a brand is at stake as well. And that brand is not just Boeing. It’s America. What America means in international aviation and by extension in the larger world more generally—that we set the standard for safety, competence, and honesty in governance of aviation.’’

However, the company’s market value was said to have dropped by nearly $26bn since the crash of Ethiopian on Sunday.

Since the accident, analysts have focused on similarities between Sunday’s tragedy, and another crash involving a 737 Max off Indonesia last October.

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