Chinese ban on 737 Max inspires others, ramps up pressure on U.S. regulator
By Gerry Shih Gerry Shih China Correspondent Email Bio Follow March 12 at 5:31 PM BEIJING — When China on Monday became the first country to order all Boeing 737 Max 8 planes grounded in the aftermath of an Ethiopian Airlines crash Sunday, its aviation regulator sent an unmistakable signal: The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is no longer the only authority in civil aviation worldwide.
China’s move, unprecedented for a government that once took cues from the FAA, was motivated by what Chinese officials and pilots said was months of equivocation from U.S. officials and Boeing in response to safety inquiries from China after a 737 Max 8 flight crashed in Indonesia in October. A top official with the Civil Aviation Administration of China said Monday that the Chinese asked their counterparts at the FAA as well as Boeing about piloting software and safety issues concerning the popular new airliner model after Lion Air Flight 610 plunged into the sea off Indonesia last fall, but that they have not received satisfactory answers.
[Pilots unable to correct for faulty sensor that sent Indonesian flight plunging into the sea, report says] Li was asked about trade tensions Monday and denied that his agency was politically motivated, calling the U.S. trade dispute a “separate matter.” Carl Liu, a 23-year-old pilot who has been flying 737s since June for a Chinese domestic airline, said the new model would sometimes show that the aircraft was climbing steeply, even though it was climbing by 10 degrees, and automated systems would nudge the plane’s nose down, causing a temporary loss of control.
The second 737 Max 8 crash has opened up raw wounds for families and friends of those who perished in the waters off Jakarta.
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