The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is introducing additional safety measures for Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes after a fatal accident in Ethiopia killed 157 passengers on board on Sunday morning.
This is the second crash involving the 737 MAX 8 in fewer than five months. Boeing is facing increased scrutiny over plane’s safety and regulators are grounding fleet and ordering additional checks.
On Tuesday morning, China ordered its airlines to suspend 737 MAX 8 operations. Globally, Boeing has delivered over 350 737 MAX 8 planes and 97 of them are in service in China.
The Indonesian government announced 737 MAX 8 planes will be temporarily grounded and be subject to further safety checks. Ethiopian Airlines, too, has grounded the remaining four 737 MAX 8 planes in its fleet as a safety precaution.
A DGCA official said the regulator is reviewing the safety issues after the crash and will issue additional instructions for Indian carriers by Tuesday morning. Jet Airways and SpiceJet operate the aircraft type and have 18 planes between them. The DGCA also held discussions with engineering and operations teams of Indian carriers, it is learnt.
A Nairobi-bound 737 MAX 8 crashed six minutes after take-off from Addis Ababa airport, killing 149 passengers and eight crew members. Preliminary information suggests that the pilots reported unreliable airspeed and decided to turn back to the airport. It never made it, crashing 60 kilometres away from the Addis Ababa airport.
Aviation experts point out that the circumstances leading to the crash appeared similar to the fatal accident involving Lion Air Boeing 737 last October. In the Lion Air incident, pilots had complained of unreliable air speed.
After the Lion Air accident, the DGCA had issued advisories to Indian carriers, especially on handling of a new system, to prevent aircraft from stalling. Pilots around the world had complained that they were not familarised regarding its working till after the Lion Air crash.
“Pilots control nose pitch and engine thrust to attain safe airspeed as a part of the checklist and we do not know till now whether the Ethiopian Airlines pilots followed the procedure,” said safety expert Amit Singh.
Addis Ababa airport is on elevation of 7,625 feet and standard procedures would have required the plane to climb 2,500 feet to clear obstacles in the path, but the Ethiopian plane’s height was too low after take-off, he said.
On Monday evening, the Ethiopian media reported that flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder were found from the crash site and these would be examined to determine the causes of the accident. A committee comprising members from Ethiopian Airlines and the regulatory authorities has been set up to carry out investigation.
In a tweet, Boeing said its team is traveling to Ethiopia to offer assistance to local authorities in the accident investigation.
“Boeing has no recommended operator action at this time. If the investigation shows any specific actions are recommended or required, operators will be notified via updates,” Boeing informed all its customers on Sunday.
This is the second crash involving the 737 MAX 8 in fewer than five months. Boeing is facing increased scrutiny over plane’s safety and regulators are grounding fleet and ordering additional checks.
On Tuesday morning, China ordered its airlines to suspend 737 MAX 8 operations. Globally, Boeing has delivered over 350 737 MAX 8 planes and 97 of them are in service in China.
The Indonesian government announced 737 MAX 8 planes will be temporarily grounded and be subject to further safety checks. Ethiopian Airlines, too, has grounded the remaining four 737 MAX 8 planes in its fleet as a safety precaution.
A DGCA official said the regulator is reviewing the safety issues after the crash and will issue additional instructions for Indian carriers by Tuesday morning. Jet Airways and SpiceJet operate the aircraft type and have 18 planes between them. The DGCA also held discussions with engineering and operations teams of Indian carriers, it is learnt.
A Nairobi-bound 737 MAX 8 crashed six minutes after take-off from Addis Ababa airport, killing 149 passengers and eight crew members. Preliminary information suggests that the pilots reported unreliable airspeed and decided to turn back to the airport. It never made it, crashing 60 kilometres away from the Addis Ababa airport.
Aviation experts point out that the circumstances leading to the crash appeared similar to the fatal accident involving Lion Air Boeing 737 last October. In the Lion Air incident, pilots had complained of unreliable air speed.
After the Lion Air accident, the DGCA had issued advisories to Indian carriers, especially on handling of a new system, to prevent aircraft from stalling. Pilots around the world had complained that they were not familarised regarding its working till after the Lion Air crash.
“Pilots control nose pitch and engine thrust to attain safe airspeed as a part of the checklist and we do not know till now whether the Ethiopian Airlines pilots followed the procedure,” said safety expert Amit Singh.
Addis Ababa airport is on elevation of 7,625 feet and standard procedures would have required the plane to climb 2,500 feet to clear obstacles in the path, but the Ethiopian plane’s height was too low after take-off, he said.
On Monday evening, the Ethiopian media reported that flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder were found from the crash site and these would be examined to determine the causes of the accident. A committee comprising members from Ethiopian Airlines and the regulatory authorities has been set up to carry out investigation.
In a tweet, Boeing said its team is traveling to Ethiopia to offer assistance to local authorities in the accident investigation.
“Boeing has no recommended operator action at this time. If the investigation shows any specific actions are recommended or required, operators will be notified via updates,” Boeing informed all its customers on Sunday.
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