New York (NYTIMES) – The plane that crashed on Sunday (March 10) outside Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, revived questions about a new Boeing model that is growing in popularity among airlines.
The crash was the second in just five months involving the model, a Boeing 737 Max 8.
Concerns first surfaced after a Lion Air flight crashed near Indonesia in October, killing all 189 people aboard.
The 737 class is a workhorse for airlines worldwide, and the single-aisle 737 Max has been Boeing’s best-selling plane ever. More than 350 of the Max 8 planes are currently registered, and many more are on order.
Max 8 planes flew more than 8,500 flights worldwide in the week beginning Feb 25, according to Flightradar24, a flight tracking service.
Two American carriers that use the planes heavily – Southwest Airlines and American Airlines – have said they will continue to fly them.
But on Monday, China and Indonesia ordered their airlines to ground all of the Max 8 jets they operate. Some other carriers, including Cayman Airways and Comair, followed suit.
Investigators have not yet determined the cause of the Ethiopia crash, but they recovered both the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder on Monday.
Some circumstances of the crash, such as unusual altitude changes after takeoff, were similar to those in the Lion Air flight.
Five months later, the causes of the Indonesian crash are still under investigation. But the tragedy revealed that Boeing and the US Federal Aviation Administration determined that pilots did not need to be informed of changes to the Max 8’s flight control system, which may have contributed to the crash.
STATUS OF BOEING 737 MAX 8 FLIGHTS BY AIRLINE
– SOUTHWEST AIRLINES
Status: In use
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 34.
– AIR CANADA
Status: In use
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 24
– AMERICAN AIRLINES
Status: In use
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 24
– CHINA SOUTHERN AIRLINES
Status: Grounded
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 22
– NORWEGIAN AIR
Status: In use
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 18
– AIR CHINA
Status: Grounded
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 15
– TUI FLY
Status: In use
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 15
– SPICEJET
Status: In use
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 13
– WESTJET
Status: In use
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 13
– HAINAN AIRLINES
Status: Grounded
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 11
– SHANGHAI AIRLINES
Status: Grounded
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 11
– FLY DUBAI
Status: In use
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 11
– TURKISH AIRLINES
Status: In use
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 11
– XIAMEN AIRLINES
Status: Grounded
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 10
– LION AIR
Status: Grounded
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 10
– JET AIRWAYS
Status: Unknown
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 9
– SMARTWINGS
Status: In use
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 7
– SHANDONG AIRLINES
Status: Grounded
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 7
– GOL AIRLINES
Status: In use
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 7
– SHENZHEN AIRLINES
Status: Grounded
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 6
– SILKAIR
Status: Grounded
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 6
– AEROMEXICO
Status: In use
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 6
– AEROLINEAS ARGENTINAS
Status: In use
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 5
– LOT
Status: Unknown
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 5
– OMAN AIR
Status: In use
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 5
– ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES
Status: Grounded
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 4
– CHINA EASTERN AIRLINES
Status: Grounded
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 4
– SUNWING AIRLINES
Status: In use
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 4
– LUCKY AIR
Status: Grounded
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 3
– AIR ITALY
Status: In use
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 3
– ICELANDAIR
Status: In use
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 3
– CAYMAN AIRWAYS
Status: Grounded
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 2
– EASTAR JET
Status: Unknown
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 2
– FIJI AIRWAYS
Status: In use
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 2
– FUZHOU AIRLINES
Status: Grounded
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 2
– KUNMING AIRLINES
Status: Grounded
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 2
– OKAY AIRWAYS
Status: Grounded
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 2
– S7 AIRLINES
Status: In use
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 2
– ENTER AIR
Status: Unknown
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 2
– ROYAL AIR MAROC
Status: Unknown
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 2
– 9 AIR
Status: Grounded
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 1
– GARUDA INDONESIA
Status: Grounded
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 1
– COMAIR
Status: Grounded
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 1
– MAURITANIA AIRLINES
Status: Unknown
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 1
– MIAT MONGOLIAN AIRLINES
Status: Unknown
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 1
– CORENDON AIRLINES
Status: Unknown
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 1
– SCAT
Status: In use
Number of 737 Max 8s in fleet: 1
