Former NTSB official: ‘I’m not sure if I would put my children on a 737 Max this morning’
A former managing director of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Tuesday that he is not sure if he would put his kids on a Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft after a fatal crash this weekend.
“I’m not sure if I would put my children on a 737 Max this morning,” Peter Goelz said on CNN’s “Newsroom.”
{mosads}Goelz also said that pressure on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to ground the aircraft is growing.
“I think the pressure is building, that the U.K. this morning made that call to say ‘put this plane down,’ and they were joined earlier by both Singapore and Australia. Those are three very respected regulatory agencies,” he said
“I would say the pressure has built to an almost unbearable level for the Department of Transportation and the FAA. If they don’t hear something today from the investigators on the ground they’re going to have to act.”
Fmr. NTSB Managing Director @PeterGoelz says the “pressure has built to an almost unbearable level for the Department of Transportation and the FAA” to ground Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets.
“I’m not sure if I would put my children on a 737 MAX this morning.” https://t.co/ANlKn7bGwV pic.twitter.com/jzgroT3bUX
— CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) March 12, 2019
A Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed on Sunday shortly after takeoff in Ethiopia, killing all 157 people on board.
The same model crashed in Indonesia in October, leaving 189 people dead.
In response to the crashes, many countries and airlines have grounded the passenger jets.
In addition to the U.K., Singapore and Australia, China, Ethiopia and Indonesia have also halted flights.
Several major airlines, including Norwegian Airlines and Brazilian airline Gol, have followed suit.
In the U.S., lawmakers including Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) have called on the FAA to take action to ground the Max 8.
The FAA issued a statement Monday saying that the passenger jets are still safe to fly, and is currently investigating the crashes in partnership with the NTSB.
“Today, the FAA will issue a Continued Airworthiness Notification to the International Community (CANIC) for Boeing 737 MAX operators,” the FAA said in a statement.
“The FAA continuously assesses and oversees the safety performance of U.S. commercial aircraft. If we identify an issue that affects safety, the FAA will take immediate and appropriate action.”
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