Ethiopian Airlines grounds its 737 MAX series planes
Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - Ethiopian Airlines on Monday said it has grounded all B-737 MAX 8 planes in its fleet until further notice following Sunday's tragic accident in which all 157 people on board perished.
The airline said in a tweet that "Although we don't yet know the cause of the accident, we have to decide to ground the particular fleet as extra safety precaution."
An Ethiopian Airlines airplane from Addis Ababa bound for Nairobi, Kenya, crashed minutes after take-off on Sunday.
This was the second crash of the new B-737 MAX 8 aircraft after one operated by Indonesia's Lion Air also crashed in October 2018.
Boeing, the manufacturers of the plane, have said they are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of the passengers and crew on Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, a 737 MAX 8 airplane.
A Boeing technical team will be travelling to the crash site to provide technical assistance under the direction of the Ethiopia Accident Investigation Bureau and U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, it said.
-0- PANA TWA/MA 11March2019
