Singapore suspends all Boeing 737 Max 8 planes after recent Ethiopian Airlines crash

Singapore – Singapore has suspended all its Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes as of 2pm March 12 in the wake of the Ethiopian Airline crash on March 10.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) released a statement on Tuesday morning regarding the temporary suspension of operation of all Boeing 737 MAX variants.

It has only been less than five months since the crash of another Boeing 737 Max 8 jet operating under Thai Lion Air killed all 189 passengers on October 29, 2018.

https://theindependent.sg.sg/lion-air-crash-updates-planes-black-box-retrieved-company-officials-suspended/

On March 10 (Sunday), Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302 headed to Nairobi, Kenya from Addis Ababa crashed minutes after take-off, killing all 157 passengers on board.

Investigations are currently ongoing to assess the cause of the accident.

According to the latest news released by the airlines, the Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) have been recovered. No further updates have been given.

Accident Bulletin no. 3
Issued on March 10, 2019 at 4:59 PM pic.twitter.com/5UOxsbl24f

— Ethiopian Airlines (@flyethiopian) March 10, 2019

SilkAir will temporarily suspend all six of its Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The other airlines operating the same model to Singapore are China Southern Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, Shandong Airlines and Thai Lion Air.

Ms Jasmynne Shi, manager of Corporate Communications Division for CAAS, noted that they are “working with the Changi Airport Group and the affected airlines to minimise any impact to travelling passengers” caused by the suspension.

In a report by BBC, China and Indonesia have also suspended all flights being catered by the affected model. Air China, China Eastern Airlines, Kunming Airlines, and China Southern Airlines are some of the carriers operating in China that have been grounded. More than 90 Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets are in use in China.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Transport Ministry said that inspections would commence on March 12 of one Garuda Indonesia and 10 Lion Air planes under the same model.

The planes will remain grounded until full inspections are completed and clearance has been given by a safety regulator.

Transport Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, in a Facebook post, emphasised the importance of safety and confirmed the suspension of all variants of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.

https://www.facebook.com/Vivian.Balakrishnan.Sg/posts/10155762569061207?__xts__[0]=68.ARAMYj661unZ2fK0-f9pqPoG9xKkiKjLZL1mSZA_gCDSUM3P6AlT4gHRwN_Jl3oGAnOok3EodanC2PNTkE8wpYA4ioHCbf0RAN-h85wrFsbjRDN8Ms8J64Lk3qi6NYF0tYUgDjCzHyt7N2qVGCYgVZLy3U14Bc6N5ov_B5UzRTb0EaK9YbO_9maYYV2HZnAhT3xdvTXiD6tM6nRbOqLQqWfMQMPz1BUaJPkfK8heL2Nzfw1fQXt5RwAcT7HP_9g_DJMaC_hvQqV1gJm5plqAsS-Jqpr1XZ7KC7zaaKLh6HQoRtye2b4r3eFUa1NBFc77Oxo3LpupfvMnjw&__tn__=-R