Ethiopian Airlines crash: Boeing has full confidence in 737 MAX 8s but not Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump has weighed in on Boeing’s controversial 737 MAX 8 jets and explained why he thinks they’re not safe.

• Boeing has “full confidence” in MAX aircraft

• UK grounds 737 MAX 8 aircraft

• Trump says planes too hard to fly

Boeing has insisted that it had "full confidence in the safety of the MAX" and said it would continue to engage with the various aviation authorities that have suspended the plane's use in their home markets.

"We'll continue to engage with (all civil authorities) to ensure they have all the information they need to have the confidence they need (to) safely continue to operate their fleets or return them to service," Boeing said in a statement. "It is also important to note that the Federal Aviation Administration is not mandating any further action at this time, and based on the information currently available, we do not have any basis to issue new guidance to operators."

RELATED: Australia bans Boeing MAX 8s

Boeing says it has “full confidence” in the safety of the MAX aircraft. Picture: Getty

The statement came as the European Union’s aviation safety regulator suspended all flights in the bloc by Boeing 737 MAX planes in the biggest setback yet for the US planemaker following the Ethiopian Airlines crash on Sunday that killed 157 people.

In this photo dated November 12, 2018, the actual Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 - Max 8 plane, that crashed on Sunday. Picture: AP

The move came after Britain, Germany, and France joined a wave of suspensions of the aircraft in the wake of Sunday’s crash, and put pressure on the US to follow.

Some five 737 Max aircraft are registered and were operational in the United Kingdom, while a sixth had planned to commence operations later this week. Planes bound for the UK were forced to turn back mid-flight.

Turkish Airlines 1997 was already en route from Istanbul to London Gatwick when the ban came into effect, meaning it had to change course immediately, CNN reports.

Turkish Airlines flight 1969 was on its way to Birmingham from Istanbul when it had to pull a similar move.

Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority announced it was temporarily suspending operation of the planes while investigations into the cause of the accident continue.

Ireland matched the move as well.

“The Irish Aviation Authority has decided to temporarily suspend the operation of all variants of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft into and out of Irish airspace,” the IAA said in a statement.

Foreign investigators examine wreckage at the scene where the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed shortly after takeoff on Sunday. Picture: AP

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump is bemoaning the complexity of modern aeroplanes.

Mr Trump tweeted that the additional “complexity creates danger” and hinders pilots from making “split second decisions” to ensure their passengers’ safety.

Airplanes are becoming far too complex to fly. Pilots are no longer needed, but rather computer scientists from MIT. I see it all the time in many products. Always seeking to go one unnecessary step further, when often old and simpler is far better. Split second decisions are....

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 12, 2019

....needed, and the complexity creates danger. All of this for great cost yet very little gain. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want Albert Einstein to be my pilot. I want great flying professionals that are allowed to easily and quickly take control of a plane!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 12, 2019

He added that “I don’t know about you, but I don’t want Albert Einstein to be my pilot.”

The president did not specifically mention the crashes.

The aircraft crashed in Indonesia last year and in Ethiopia on Sunday.

Mr Trump participated in a signing ceremony last month in Hanoi between U.S.-based Boeing and the Vietnamese government.

The US Federal Aviation Authority has not yet demanded any further action related to 737 MAX operations.