President Trump Orders Grounding Of Boeing 737 Max 8 Planes In U.S.
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – President Donald Trump issued an emergency order on Wednesday grounding all Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 jets.
It is because of the deadly crash in Ethiopia and mounting concerns about the plane's safety.
Dozens of airlines had already voluntarily stopped using those planes.
When President Trump took action today to ground the Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 aircraft it had an immediate impact at Pittsburgh International Airport. Southwest Airlines flies Max 8s through Pittsburgh on a regular basis and travelers are being advised to check ahead if you are flying Southwest.
BREAKING: President Trump says Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 planes will be grounded, after two deadly crashes within six months https://t.co/H9n7JKbYS7 pic.twitter.com/k33Yr6aCIv
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 13, 2019
The grounding of the planes will continue until Boeing comes up with a permanent fix for the newest 737's in its inventory.
In both the Lion Air crash and the Ethiopian crash, the flight crew was reportedly left battling the plane's flight control systems for altitude.
The Max aircraft are equipped with a system that detects when the plane is pitching too high and risking a stall. The system then pitches the nose of the aircraft downward to correct the problem no matter what the pilots do.
CBS Travel Consultant Peter Greenberg says pilots in the United States were trained after the Lion Air crash how to overcome the issue. He doesn't know if the Ethiopian crew had that training. It was a temporary fix while Boeing works on a more permanent solution.
As President Trump said this afternoon, "hopefully they will quickly come up with the answer but until they do the planes are grounded."
The airline released a statement Monday in response to the crash in Ethiopia:
"As the investigation of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 progresses, we are staying in close contact with Boeing, the FAA, and other airlines. We operate 34 MAX 8 aircraft in our fleet of more than 750 Boeing 737s. We remain confident in the safety and airworthiness of the MAX 8. We don't have any changes planned to our MAX 8 operating plans."
If you are flying Southwest, you can check what aircraft you'll be flying in on the company's website. When you're booking the flight, click on the flight number to find the information.
For more information on this story, visit CBS News at this link.