The Ethiopian State media has confirmed they have retrieved the ‘black boxes’ cockpit voice and flight data recorders from the crashed Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft. Local reports confirmed the devices had been retrieved on Monday morning and will be sent for analysis. However, an airline official has stated that one of the recorders has suffered serious damage in the crash and at present, it is unknown how much data can be retrieved from it.
The Boeing 737 Max 8 was just four months old when it crashed on Sunday morning claiming the lives of all 157 people on board. The manufacturer Boeing has already said, before any causes of the crash are known, that it will not be issuing any further safety advisories. It has sent a technical team to the crash site to provide technical assistance under the direction of the Ethiopia Accident Investigation Bureau and U.S. National Transportation Safety Board.
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| Photo Ethiopian Airlines |
Ethiopian Airlines has halted all further flights on 737 Max 8 aircraft as a precaution, the Chinese authorities have also ordered all 737 Max 8 in the country be grounded will investigations are ongoing.
Cayman Airlines has two 737 Max aircraft and has grounded them as a precaution in the wake of the latest disaster to befall the type.
An Air Italy spokesperson said there were monitoring the situation but had no plans to halt its 737 Max 8 services.
Budget carrier Norwegian has refused to ground its 737 Max 8 aircraft as a precaution, saying that “Safety is and will always be our top priority. We’re in close dialogue with Boeing and follow both their and the aviation authorities’ instructions and recommendations.”
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| Photo Boeing |
European holiday airline TUI Group claimed to be in close contact with the manufacturer and would only stop flying the 737 Max 8 aircraft if the manufacturer told them to.
S7 – the Russian carrier also said it was in touch with Boeing and would wait for them to advise.
Oman Air also said it will be waiting for Boeing to contact them to understand if there are any implications for 737 Max 8 operations.
SilkAir, part of Singapore Airlines confirmed it would continue to fly the model unless instructed not to do so by authorities.
flyDubai a large operator of the Boeing 737 Max aircraft said it had full confidence in the aircraft and would not alter its schedules.
Also assuring of its confidence in the aircraft was South American GOL which has 7 of the type in its fleet, its spokesperson aggressively stressed "reiterates confidence in the safety of its fleet"
The Indonesian Transport Ministry confirmed that a single Garuda Indonesia 737 Max and 10 operated by Lion Air would be grounded until cleared by safety regulator after additional checks are carried out, which should start tomorrow.
The giant media machine from Boeing has already swung into action and there are a number of uncredited media posts appearing containing false information regarding Ethiopian’s safety record.
