US resists calls on grounding of Boeing 737s

The US is under enormous pressure to follow the rest of the world and ground Boeing’s 737 Max 8 jet.

Wreckage of the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737. Picture: AP

The US is under enormous pressure to follow the rest of the world and ground Boeing’s 737 Max 8 jet after Britain and the EU joined at least 15 other countries in suspending flights.

But the US Federal Aviation Administration, the plane’s manufacturer Boeing and the two US airlines that use the 737 Max 8, Southwest and American Airlines, maintain there is no reason to ground the jet.

Pressure even came from the White House, with Donald Trump tweeting: “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 product(s). Always seeking to go one unnecessary step further, when often old and simpler is far better.

“Split second decisions are needed, and the complexity creates danger. All this cost for very little gain. 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.’’

Concerns about the safety of the 737 Max 8 have spread across the globe in recent days after the second crash of a new 737 Max 8 in five months.

The crash of an Ethiopian ­Airlines 737 Max 8 shortly after take off from Nairobi on Sunday followed the crash of an Indonesian Lion Air 737 Max 8 last October, with the combined loss of more than 300 passengers.

Australia, China, Indonesia and Ethiopia were among countries that quickly grounded or banned 737 Max 8 jets until further investigation. They were joined yesterday by Britain, Germany, France and the EU Aviation Safety Agency.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority said the similarity between the two accidents — both planes crashed shortly after takeoff after experiencing highly ­irregular flight patterns — dictated no 737 Max jets should operate in British airspace until safeguards were in place.

“Given the similarity of the two accidents it has been decided that, as a precautionary measure, all (737 Max flights) should stop until appropriate safeguards are in place. This is needed to assure the (authority) that the aircraft ­involved are fully compliant with internationally recognised standards,” the UK agency said.

A worldwide grounding of the popular 737 Max 8, one of the new versions of the hugely popular 737 aircraft, would have a devastating financial impact on Boeing, whose share price has been savaged in recent days.

The company has refused to recommended grounding its aircraft, claiming the plane is safe.

“Safety is Boeing’s No 1 priority and we have full confidence in the safety of the 737 Max,” Boeing said in a statement.

“We understand regulatory agencies and customers have made decisions they believe are most appropriate for their home markets. We’ll continue to engage with them to ensure they have the information needed to have confidence in operating their fleets.”

The US FAA has so far refused calls, including by some members of congress, to ground the planes.

“Thus far our review shows no systemic performance issues and provides no basis to order grounding the aircraft,” acting FAA ­administrator Dan Elwell said.

“Nor have other civil aviation authorities provided data to us that would warrant action.”

However, Mr Elwell promised “the FAA would take immediate and appropriate action” if such evidence emerged.

Southwest and American Airlines have not grounded their fleets of 737 Max 8 jets, saying their pilot training is good enough for pilots to deal with any emergency like the one that caused an Indonesia Lion Air 737 Max 8 to crash last year.

The Lion Air crash is believed to be linked to a faulty sensor on the Max 8 model which automatically points the nose of a plane down, overriding efforts by the pilot to make the plane climb.

Cameron Stewart is also US contributor for Sky News Australia