'Get These Planes Out Of The Sky': Warren Calls For Grounding Of Boeing 737 Max Jets
WASHINGTON (CBS) – Massachusetts Senator and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren is among the lawmakers calling for Boeing 737 Max jets to be grounded in the United States in the wake of a crash in Ethiopia that killed 157 people Sunday.
It's the second deadly crash involving a 737 Max 8 aircraft in five months. The same model crashed near Jakarta, Indonesia in October, killing 189.
"Dozens of Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes fly daily in the United States. The United Kingdom, China, Australia, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia and others have already grounded the 737 MAX. The FAA should follow their lead, reverse their decision, and immediately ground this plane in the United States until its safety can be assured," Warren said in a statement.
Boeing said in a statement Tuesday that "we have full confidence in the safety of the 737 MAX." CBS News reports that American Airlines operates 24 Max 8 jets, and Southwest Airlines has the largest fleet of those planes with 34. Both airlines are expressing confidence in the safety of the aircraft.
The FAA will order Boeing to enhance the software on 737 Max planes by next month. But Warren says changes should be made before any more flights take off.
"The world has now witnessed the second tragic crash of one of these planes in less than six months," Warren said. "While we do not know the causes of these crashes, serious questions have been raised about whether these planes were pressed into service without additional pilot training in order to save money."
Senators Dianne Feinstein, Richard Blumenthal and Mitt Romney are also calling on the FAA to ground the jets until an investigation is complete. Warren wants Congress to hold hearings on whether the Trump Administration is more concerned with protecting Boeing's profits than safety.
"But that is a question to be answered another day," she said. "Today, immediately, the FAA needs to get these planes out of the sky."