The United States is one of the last holdouts in grounding the Boeing 737 MAX 8 — as the European Union temporarily banned the controversial plane model throughout Europe Tuesday afternoon.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency said it is “suspending all flight operations of all Boeing Model 737-8 MAX and 737-9 MAX aeroplanes in Europe” and “all commercial flights performed by third-country operators into, within or out of the EU of the above mentioned models” as a “precautionary measure” following the deadly crash of an Ethiopian Airlines MAX 8 Sunday — the second fatal crash of a MAX 8 in just five months.
US Federal Aviation Administration has refused to ground the planes, and the New York Times reported that Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg called President Trump on Tuesday to beg that the feds not pull the planes — Boeing’s flagship model — from US skies.
Trump complained in a series of tweets earlier Tuesday that it has become “far too complex to fly” and that “I don’t want Albert Einstein to be my pilot” — but didn’t take a stance on the controversial planes.
His spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said later Tuesday on Fox News that it’s too “early in the process” of investigating the crash to call for a grounding.
“We know that a lot of people in the industry have started to voice concerns about the amount of technology, taking the power out of the hands of the pilot,” Sanders said.
The EU’s temporary ban comes after Ethiopian Airlines’ CEO revealed the doomed plane was experiencing “flight control problems” and civil aviation authorities in more than a dozen countries ordered the planes grounded.
But the FAA said Monday the planes are safe and has taken no action to remove them from service.That’s despite a chorus of industry professionals and lawmakers — including Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Mitt Romney, Richard Blumenthal and Dianne Feinstein — asking the agency to ground them before another disaster.
A prominent flight attendants’ union is also demanding the FAA yank the planes.
“This is about public confidence in the safety of air travel,” said Association of Flight Attendants-CWA president Sara Nelson. “The United States has the safest aviation system in the world, but Americans are looking for leadership in this time of uncertainty. The FAA must act decisively to restore the public faith in the system.”