We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
LAST UPDATE | 12 Mar 2019
THE EUROPEAN AVIATION Safety Agency (EASA) has announced that it is suspending all flight operations of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in Europe.
In a statement this afternoon it said the decision was taken after an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 went down minutes into a flight to Nairobi in Kenya on Sunday, killing all 157 people on board.
Sunday’s crash comes four months after a Lion Air jet of the same model crashed in Indonesia killing 189.
The EASA has said that it is “continuously analysing the data” emerging relating to Sunday’s crash and that the decision to suspend Boeing 737 MAX operations in Europe as of 7pm today was taken as a “precautionary measure”.
“The accident investigation is currently ongoing, and it is too early to draw any conclusions as to the cause of the accident,” the EASA has said in a statement.
The Irish Aviation Authority’s (IAA) made a decision earlier this afternoon to temporarily suspend the operation of all variants of the Boeing aircraft into and out of Irish airspace.
“This decision has been taken based on ensuring the continued safety of passengers and flight crew, which is the IAA’s number one priority,” the IAA said.
The suspension took effect from 3pm today and follows an announcement by the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority that it was banning these aircraft from its airspace. France and Germany have now also closed airspace to the Boeing 737 Max planes, according to France 24.
Meanwhile, the Netherlands has also banned the aircraft from its airspace, according to Dutch infrastructure ministry spokesman Roel Vincken.
A Norwegian flight to Newburgh, Orange County, New York – due to leave Dublin Airport at 3.20pm today – has been cancelled. Earlier today the airline said it was grounding its Boeing 737 Max fleet. An earlier 2.55pm flight to Providence was also cancelled.
A spokesperson for the airline said it is looking at re-allocating passengers on other Norwegian flights and it is currently in the process of offering re-bookings to affected passengers.
Norwegian temporarily suspends flights with the Boeing 737 MAX 8, following recommendations by European aviation authorities. We will do our utmost to take care of our passengers in the best possible way. https://t.co/1PvpWoSfbC
— Norwegian (@Fly_Norwegian) March 12, 2019
Turkish Airlines is the latest to ground all flights using its 12 Boeing 737 Max planes.
In its statement, the Irish Aviation Authority said:
The IAA has been closely monitoring the situation, however, as we do not currently have sufficient information from the flight data recorder we have, as a precautionary measure, issued instructions to stop any flights on Boeing 737 MAX from any operator arriving, departing or overflying Irish airspace.
There are 13 Boeing 737 aircraft on the Irish aircraft register. The IAA said it will continue to work closely with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) and the manufacturer Boeing.
Responding to the suspensions, Boeing said safety is its “number one priority” and it has “full confidence” in the safety of the 737 Max.
“We understand that regulatory agencies and customers have made decisions that they believe are most appropriate for their home markets. We’ll continue to engage with them to ensure they have the information needed to have confidence in operating their fleets.
“The United States Federal Aviation Administration is not mandating any further action at this time, and based on the information currently available, we do not have any basis to issue new guidance to operators.”
Advice for passengers
The Commission for Aviation Regulation (Car) has advised affected passengers to be aware of their entitlements.
In the event of a flight cancellation, the air carrier must offer you the choice between the following:
If you choose the first option the airline must provide you with care and assistance while you wait for the alternative flight.
‘Care and assistance’ comprise:
More information can be found on the Car website.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Better safe than sorry!
Wow a government agency being proactive, who would ever have thought it.
@james cullen: Just following the Brits
@james cullen: Give an example of when the IAA was found to be inactive on any safety issue.
@Dotty Dunleary: actually no were not, we’re following the Americans who we always follow for aviation safety, the brits followed us and the Americans
@TTG AlanK: You’re the answer to the question nobody asked.
@TTG AlanK: The Americans haven’t banned them from flying as far as I know? So it’s a curious kind of following if we’re doing something completely different.
@TTG AlanK: The Americans are the least trustworthy on this subject. They bowed to Boeing’s pressure that no further training was required.
@Tweety McTweeter: the decision came immediately following British announcement.
@Tweety McTweeter: The opposite of “proactive” is not “inactive”.
@Dotty Dunleary: very true.
@james cullen: They are only following an EASA (European Air Safety Agency) safety directive,which most if not all European aviation state bodies follow.
Good! This’ll stop the ones Ryanair have on order from causing any problems. Here’s hoping their order is scrapped!
@Sean Murphy: Don’t talk sh one T
@Sean Murphy:
Lets try to establish the facts first
@Sean Murphy: The problem won’t affect Ryanair’s because they didn’t order the exact same type.
The MCAS flaw was added with other safety features to combat the fact that the center of gravity on the MAX 8 is too far forward after they moved the (new, larger) engines a few metres forward to allow for a longer stretched version of the aircraft (MAX 200, the variant Ryanair bought) to be made.
This makes the MAX 8 unstable in certain conditions and the computer fixes are meant to automatically correct in those cases.
Unfortunately Boeing did not inform crews about all these new features, the chime that goes of when they activate is not unique and the process of disabling it is too complicated.
@Sean Murphy: People really are obsessed with Ryanair.
@Shane Corry: Good to hear from someone who sounds knowledgeable.
@Sam Harms: Yes, use your brain, why would our largest airliner (and 2nd biggest in eu) who carries out a huge amount of flights in our country be a common talking point?
@Shane Corry: 100% Correct.
@Shane Corry: fair play. Was wondering what the issue was. Couldn’t find the report on the Lion Air crash but the speculation was pitot tube and/or AoA sensor problems at the time. Must be difficult for crews flying both Max and pre Max 737s assuming pilots switch between both
This might be a big blow for Norwegian given their previous financial difficulties.
@Gearoid Mag Lennain: Could be the final nail in the coffin
@Gearoid Mag Lennain: If this drags in for any amount of time they’re as good as bust.
@Dotty Dunleary: it won’t as Boeing will have to shoulder some of the cost of there aircrafts being grounded, reading all the comments below, some people shouldn’t comment of stuff they haven’t got a clue, this is standard in the aviation world, and when the 737 max goes back in to service we will have safer planes thanks to this action
@TTG AlanK: It depends on how long it drags on.
Boeing won’t be sending on weekly cheques or anything to affected airlines. They’ll pay a lump sum compensation payment eventually (after they argue fault, go through appeals etc.).
In the mean time the airlines need to pay crews to do nothing, to keep the aircraft stored, a small fortune in cancellation dues, refunds & rebooking costs and suffer a permanent reputational hit (+ some people will do their best to avoid the MAX 8 even after it’s approved again).
With the position Norwegian are in financially, it would only take 1-3 weeks of this for them to be as good as insolvent.
@Shane Corry: Hold on there, Alan knows it all!
@TTG AlanK: pity it took 300+ lives to get us there. Sounds like training issues if Shane’s comments up above re weight distribution are correct. Presumably Boeing need to shoulder some of the blame for that.
@TTG AlanK: Alan I don’t think you can say this is standard in aviation, when is the last time multiple government agencies grounded a Boeing aircraft? Boeing released FCIs after the lion air crash. If it is the same issue as the Lion air accident then it’s a matter of crew training.
Very wise decision.
This is going to cost Boeing a fortune.. All those grounded aircraft are going to have to be replaced by the Airlines operating them to cover routes.. My Wife works for TUI and they have 15 737 Max’s that they’ll have to lease in Aircraft to replace the 737′s..
@David Garland:
Agreed! And Boeing management has erred shamefully in recently years with its share buy-back program, costing it tens of billions, placating some shareholders, boosting its Balance Sheet, but all unfortunately at the expense of essential R&D investment, ultimately leading to current issues with 737 Max, allegedly!
Mish mash of 50 year old technology, plus complex patches, in creating these new B Super Planes, and inadequate pilot training, apparently, is likely cause of those accidents, allegedly.
More extensive pilot training plus incorporation of a few more simple sensors will fix the problems, it is reported. Let’s hope so.
Won’t last long, Ireland is a country of puppets and tax lovers.
@James Barber: oh give over would ya. It’s good they’ve been effectively banned worldwide. Wonder how long it’ll take for an acceptable fix to the issue. Not long is my guess. Should have already been fixed after the last incident instead of trying to deflect blame onto the flight crew abc highlighting other “safety culture” issues that probably don’t exist
@James Barber: Give it a rest Jimmy. You’re rambling on again
@James Barber: why make a stupid comment when you don’t know how the aviation industry work around safety and accident investigation, some people think there aviation crash experts because they watched the news media coverage after rescue 116 crashed!
By the time the investigation concludes and then produce the necessary mods and validate the SW, there is no way IAA will hold out that long.
@Tweety McTweeter:
mr ryanair wont be happy!! loads on order…
@Oliverpool:
Unlikely to last that long
@Oliverpool: they’ll prob have an approved fix by the end of the week now that they can’t hide from it. Then roll out the fix
@Oliverpool: I think just 5
@Oliverpool: I’m sure they’ll be so disappointed that they won’t be getting potentially faulty planes.
I wouldn’t fly in one !!!
@Tony O Neill: Switch off and then switch on again???
Bit of a waste as you can’t fly into or out of Ireland in any direction without passing through British airspace and they had banned them already…..yes even to the west!
@GerryCummins: Wow I didn’t know that, but it seems you are correct. Here’s an image of the airspace control around Orleans below.
For those wondering, Shanwick Oceanic airspace is controlled by the UK:
https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-0f97bc57950464a27dc0f99c3e0dc30c
@bopter: the management of Shanwick airspace is shared between the UK and Ireland, with Ireland looking after the radio comms side. But it doesn’t form a part of either country’s airspace, it’s oceanic airspace.
@bopter: double wow. I’d doubt a lot of people know about this . I suppose it makes sense though
@Susiebee: To be specific:
The flight control (procedural ATC) aspect within the Shanwick OCA around Ireland is the responsibility of the United Kingdom and is provided by National Air Traffic Services (NATS) in Prestwick.
Ireland has no shared flight control.
The voice communication however is shared between the UK and the Irish Aviation Authority from Shannon Aeradio, in Ballygirreen Radio Station.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanwick_Oceanic_Control?wprov=sfti1
@bopter: interest
@bopter: interesting. Didn’t know that. Keep the info coming. Just assumed that we controlled the airspace to our west.
This seems to be a case of faulty computer app, given that these apps can be so easily hacked by those such as terrorists, is it safe to fly at all.
Test
have your say