Crashed Boeing 737 Max: German experts refused - France investigates black box

After the crash of a Boeing 737 Max 8 in Ethiopia, the two flight recorders in France are to be evaluated. This was reported by the French news agency AFP, citing the French aviation security agency Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyzes (BEA).

According to the Reuters news agency, an Ethiopian delegation has meanwhile brought the blackboxes to Paris. As the BEA said, the Ethiopian authorities have requested assistance. The German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation had previously rejected an investigation. The so-called black boxes record the radio in the cockpit and all flight data, so they could be crucial for clarifying the cause of the accident.

Evidence of similarities in crashes

At the weekend, the Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX 8 crashed for reasons unknown until now. A few months earlier, a 737 MAX 8 had fallen in Indonesia, killing 189 people. The 737 MAX is a new model, which has only been delivered since 2017, and economically very important for Boeing. The Boeing shares, which had already lost about eleven percent at the beginning of the week, slumped on Wednesday by another three percent.

AFP

Boeing 737 Max 8 from American Airlines

Numerous countries issued after the second crash a flight ban for all machines of the type. Meanwhile, the US group has responded. As a precautionary measure, Boeing commits the US Air Traffic Control Authority FAA to a temporary ban on the 371 aircraft worldwide, the company said. Immediately before, US President Donald Trump ordered a corresponding ban on the 737 MAX in the US.

The US aviation authority FAA justified the ban with new findings on the crash in Ethiopia, which pointed to similarities to the crash last October in Indonesia. The pressure on the US had recently grown steadily after many countries had banned the use of airmen - most recently the US neighbor Canada.

Boeing said Wednesday that the company is doing everything possible to find out the causes of the crashes. You work together with the authorities. Nevertheless, Boeing continues to have complete confidence in the safety of the 737 MAX.

Tui: Boeing flight ban costs three million euros per week

This decision is also based on new findings from satellite data, which were received by the authority on Wednesday. The major US airlines Southwest Airlines, American Airlines and United had until recently confirmed they had confidence in their Boeing fleets.

The flight stop cost alone the German travel group Tui according to own data approximately three million euro per week. Affected are all 15 machines, said a Tui spokesman. The Group's fleet includes 14 Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft operating in the United Kingdom and the Benelux on routes to the Canary Islands or Cape Verde. Another machine was recently transferred to Brussels.

As the first airline, Norwegian Air, which was affected by flight bans, announced that it was seeking damages from Boeing. The financially troubled budget airline is one of the biggest buyers of the Boeing 737 MAX in Europe. The airline smashed about three dozen departures from Scandinavia on Wednesday, booked the passengers and used other aircraft. She does not want to pay for it herself.

Meanwhile, Ethiopian Airlines has given initial indications of possible causes of the crash of their machine. The pilot reported problems with the flight control, but no external factors such as bird strikes, said an airline spokesman. Immediately before the crash on Sunday, the pilot still received clearance to return to the airport.