THE worldwide grounding of Boeing’s 737 MAX 8 aircrafts has prompted the Government of Samoa to defer the commissioning of its new Boeing 737 MAX 9, which was to have taken place next month (April 2019).
Recent air disasters involving the Boeing 737 MAX 8 have forced the hands of airlines around the world to ground their aircraft, and prompted Australia, New Zealand, the United States of America and China to slap a ban on the 737 MAX series in their airspaces.
“The crash of two brand new 737 MAX 8 within the span of five months has shaken the world of aviation and unless we have received clearance from the Federal Aviation Administration, the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority and Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety, we will not bring that aircraft to Samoa,” Minister of Public Enterprises Lautafi Selafi Purcell told the Samoa Observer.
Last month, an Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302 bound for Nairobi, Kenya, crashed six minutes after takeoff from Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, killing all 148 passengers and eight crew members on board.
On October 29 last year, Indonesian airline Lion Air flight JT610 destined for Pangkal Pinang in Indonesia crashed 13 minutes after taking off from Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta Airport, killing 184 passengers and five crewmembers on board.
Both accidents involved a Boeing 737 MAX 8.
…..to read more buy your personal copy at