The FAA[1] reversed course Wednesday and ordered the grounding of all Boeing[2] 737 Max 8 jetliners after a deadly crash last weekend in Ethiopia[3].
President Trump[4] made the announcement in the Oval Office after speaking with federal transportation officials and executives from Boeing[5].
“They are all in agreement with the action,” the president told reporters. “Planes that are in the air will be grounded. The safety of the American people, and of all people, is our paramount concern.”
Any plane currently in the air will go to its destination and then be grounded, the president said.
“Pilots have been notified. Airlines have been all notified,” Mr. Trump[6] said.
The action followed enormous pressure on the administration to follow safety precautions taken by virtually all other nations and several airlines to suspend operations of the aircraft. When Canada grounded the plane earlier Wednesday, the U.S. was virtually alone in the world in allowing the jetliner to fly in its airspace.
Just a day earlier, the FAA[7] had said it saw no reason to ground the U.S-made plane. Boeing[8] CEO Dennis Muilenburg had spoken by phone with the president on Tuesday and assured him the plane is safe.
The Ethiopia[9] crash followed a similar, Lion Air Max 8 disaster in Indonesia in October, raising questions about pilots’ ability to control the model of planes.
Mr. Trump[10] stressed that Boeing[11] remains an “incredible company.”
“They are working very, very hard right now,” ...
Mr. Trump[12] said. “Until they do [find a cause], the planes are grounded.”