The Boeing 737 family of jets is perhaps the most successful passenger airliner ever produced. Thousands of units have been sold over the past couple of decades and Boeing continues to make new iterations of its iconic narrow-body jet in order to serve the needs of its customers. The Boeing 737 Max 8 is one of the newest variants of this jet and it has unfortunately been involved in two deadly crashes just five months apart, following which some airlines have now started to ground their fleets.
An Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max 8 crashed on Sunday merely minutes after takeoff. It’s the second fatal crash involving this jet following the Lion Air crash in October last year. There were no survivors in both incidents.
The cause of the latest incident is not yet known as the investigation is in very early stages but nevertheless, it has resulted in fears that the two Max 8 crashes could be related. The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder of the ill-fated Ethiopian Airlines flight have both been recovered and will provide valuable details about the moments before the crash.
The 737 Max 8 has been grounded in Ethiopia, Indonesia, and China in the meantime while some of Boeing’s biggest 737 Max 8 customers have reiterated their confidence in the airplane and are continuing to operate it. Boeing has said that its technical team will travel to the crash site to provide technical assistance under the direction of the Ethiopia Accident Investigation Bureau and the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board.