China’s aviation regulator ordered airlines operating within the country to ground all Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft on Monday morning, the day after an Ethiopian Airlines plane of the same model crashed minutes after taking off.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China said that airlines had until 6 p.m. Monday to ensure that their Boeing 737 Max 8 planes were grounded. According to the regulator’s statement, the suspension is in line with a “zero-tolerance for safety hazards.”
Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 from Addis Ababa to Nairobi, Kenya, crashed Sunday morning, killing all 157 people on board. Eight Chinese nationals were among the deceased.
This is the second fatal crash involving a Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft in less than six months. A Lion Air plane carrying 189 people crashed into the Java Sea 13 minutes after takeoff last October. In that case, too, there were no survivors. (Image: VCG)