China has ordered domestic airlines to suspend commercial operation of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 citing the Ethiopian Airlines crash and another deadly accident of that same model in Indonesia.
Noting the “similarities” between the two accidents, China’s Civil Aviation Administration said domestic airlines had until 6pm local time (10:00 GMT) to ground all 737 MAX 8 aircraft.
It said operation of the model will only resume after “confirming the relevant measures to effectively ensure flight safety”, the administration said in a statement.
“Given that two accidents both involved newly delivered Boeing 737-8 planes and happened during take-off phase, they have some degree of similarity,” it said, adding the order was in line with its principle of zero-tolerance on safety harzards. The 737 MAX 8 is sometimes referred to as the 737-8.
The aviation authority will contact the US Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing, it said.
The statement cited the Kenya-bound Ethiopian Airlines flight that crashed minutes after take-off from Addis Ababa on Sunday, killing all 157 people on board, including eight from China.
The Civil Aviation Administration also mentioned the Indonesia Lion Air flight, which crashed after take-off from Jakarta in October, killing all 189 people on board.
China is an important market for the US aircraft company, accounting for about one-fifth of worldwide deliveries of Boeing 737 MAX models.
The company has delivered 76 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to Chinese airlines, which have ordered another 104, according to data from the aircraft maker’s website updated through January.
Chinese airlines have 96 737 MAX jets in service, the state company regulator said on Weibo.
Caijing, a Chinese state-run news outlet that covers finance and economics, said many flights scheduled to use 737 MAX planes would instead use the 737-800 models.
A Boeing spokesman declined to comment.
A US official told Reuters news agency the United States was unsure of what information China was acting on.
The US official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said there were no plans to follow suit given the 737 MAX had a stellar safety record in the United States and there was a lack of information about the cause of the Ethiopian crash.
Western industry sources say China has been at pains in recent years to assert its independence as a safety regulator as it negotiates mutual safety standard recognition with regulators in the United States and Europe.
Boeing said after the crash it is focused on “supporting” the Ethiopian airline and would not proceed with Wednesday’s planned debut of the 777X in Seattle.
“We will look for an opportunity to mark the new plane with the world in the near future,” the company said.
A spokesman said there will be no delay to the program, however.
