The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Monday it plans to issue a global notice of “continued airworthiness” for the Boeing 737 Max 8 airplane after two deadly crashes involving the model raised concerns about safety.
“The FAA continuously assesses and oversees the safety performance of U.S. commercial aircraft,” the FAA said. “If we identify an issue that affects safety, the FAA will take immediate and appropriate action.”
{mosads}Several nations grounded the model in the wake of an Ethiopian Airlines crash on Sunday. The crash, which killed 157 people, remains under investigation.
It was the second recent crash involving a Boeing 737 Max 8 in recent months. In October, the same model crashed in Indonesia, killing 189 people. The cause of that crash is still unknown, according to CNBC.
Airline industry analysts said two crashes of the same model so close together are rare.
Fears about the jet were amplified after a former FAA safety official went on CNN’s “Newsroom” on Monday morning and urged travelers to be cautious.
“I’ve never said that, ‘Hey, it’s unsafe to fly a particular model’ but in this case, I’m going to have to go there,” said David Soucie, now an aviation safety analyst for the network.
“I just looked at the flight data of that aircraft: It’s strikingly similar, same issues we had with the Max Air. So yeah, I would watch for that airplane.”
Boeing shares on the New York Stock Exchange dropped sharply earlier in the day, before closing 22.65 points down, a loss of over 5 percent.
The company said in a statement that it was also investigating the crash but did not have any immediate new guidance for operators of the plane.
“Safety is our number one priority and we are taking every measure to fully understand all aspects of this accident, working closely with the investigating team and all regulatory authorities involved,” Boeing said.
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao also said Monday that regulators will look “very carefully” at the two fatal crashes, according to Reuters.
“I want people to be assured that we take these incidents, these accidents very seriously,” she added.
Updated at 5:40 p.m.