Thailand aviation regulator suspends Boeing 737 Max 9 flights for a week

 

A passenger safety instruction card is seen at the scene of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 plane crash, near the town of Bishoftu, southeast of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia March 10, 2019. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand said on Wednesday it is suspending the use of the Boeing Co's 737 Max 9 due to safety concerns.

 

The regulator said it will temporarily suspend the use of Thai Lion Air's Boeing 737 Max 9s for seven days, starting on Thursday and will continue to investigate safety measures.

 

Thai Lion Air's three Max 9 jets will be affected.

 

Thailand is the last country in Asia where the jets are registered to issue a suspension, following the fatal crash of a MAX 8 jet in Ethiopia on Sunday.

Thai airlines do not operate MAX 8 jets.

 

(Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-03-14

Grounded world wide! Both versions B38M & B39M.
Quote
"On Mar 13th 2019 the President of the United States signed an executive order effectively grounding all Boeing 737 MAX aircraft around the globe. Aircraft currently flying is permitted to continue to its destination, thereafter the aircraft will remain on the ground. The President said: "It's a terrible, terrible thing. Boeing is an incredible company, they are working very hard right now. Hopefully they will very quickly come up with an answer, but until they do the planes are grounded.""

Full story here:-
http://avherald.com/h?article=4c534c4a&opt=0

Edit.
Now ratified by the American FAA

It is no wonder that the Thai aircraft regulatory authorities have a reputation for poor management. With the rest of the world issuing months long bans, and even Boeing now agreeing that it will take months to develop & install new software into these planes, a week long ban is ridiculous. What the hell are these dolts thinking!

4 minutes ago, brommers said:

It is no wonder that the Thai aircraft regulatory authorities have a reputation for poor management. With the rest of the world issuing months long bans, and even Boeing now agreeing that it will take months to develop & install new software into these planes, a week long ban is ridiculous. What the hell are these dolts thinking!

I think your last sentence is giving them more credit than they are due....

9 minutes ago, brommers said:

It is no wonder that the Thai aircraft regulatory authorities have a reputation for poor management. With the rest of the world issuing months long bans, and even Boeing now agreeing that it will take months to develop & install new software into these planes, a week long ban is ridiculous. What the hell are these dolts thinking!

Well let us be fair ( we don't want to be accused of "Thai bashing" now do we), they have reportedly been rather occupied for the last several days "scoffing" at the Chinese and other countries aviation authorities for issueing such bans...

Thailand, once again last

13 minutes ago, brommers said:

It is no wonder that the Thai aircraft regulatory authorities have a reputation for poor management. With the rest of the world issuing months long bans, and even Boeing now agreeing that it will take months to develop & install new software into these planes, a week long ban is ridiculous. What the hell are these dolts thinking!

Do you really think they are banning it for 7 days and then they'll be flying in Thailand again??  It's a ban, it will remain banned until proven airworthy.  Lots of countries issued temporary bans.  It is highly likely that they will end up not flying again for a long time.

 

If you want to talk about dolts how about looking to the US?  The FAA and Boeing insisting the planes were safe and there was no need to ground them, right up until the cheesy wotsit got involved and grounded them.  Pretty shameful behaviour by them.  Instead how about giving Thailand some credit for grounding the planes before the gutless US FAA did?

 

There is a really good documentary on the 787 and Boeing in general from 2014, citing many issues with the company, hidden cameras in their plants, whistleblowing testimony from senior staff, and a disturbing revelation about the huge influence Boeing has over the FAA.  Also the amount they spend on lobbyists and giving very lucrative jobs to senior government members is pretty shocking.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvkEpstd9os

9 minutes ago, JAG said:

Well let us be fair ( we don't want to be accused of "Thai bashing" now do we), they have reportedly been rather occupied for the last several days "scoffing" at the Chinese and other countries aviation authorities for issueing such bans...

I remember several people here criticising the Chinese decision saying it is a ridiculous knee jerk reaction purely to punish Boeing, wouldn't have happened if it was an Airbus or a Chinese plane, blah blah blah.

Now Thailand is criticised for being too slow (but still faster than the US themselves).  

After a week allowed to fly again,even though problems with the aircraft might

not be rectified????

regards wrgeordie

Quote:

"Thai airlines do not operate MAX 8 jets" 

Neither does AIR ASIA, NOK AIR, THAI VIETJET and BANGKOK AIRWAYS.

1 hour ago, JimSaints said:

Thailand, once again last

And the first ones to save face.

1 hour ago, worgeordie said:

After a week allowed to fly again,even though problems with the aircraft might

not be rectified????

regards wrgeordie

Why on Earth do you think they'll be flying again in a week? 

11 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

Why on Earth do you think they'll be flying again in a week? 

Hmmm, because they have only been grounded for a week,

read the first report.

regards worgeordie

35 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

Hmmm, because they have only been grounded for a week,

read the first report.

regards worgeordie

Temporarily suspended while they continue investigations.  It's quite obvious they will extend it and if you genuinely believe Thailand will certify them safe to fly again after a week then you can believe that if it makes you happy.

 

Lots of other countries issued temporary bans - it is pretty standard.

38 minutes ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

Enough time for an adequately sized cake box to arrive. 

With brown envelopes on top of it

Vietjet only fly Airbus A320 ans A321 now but last week their CEO announced the order of 50 B737 Max series.  I hope the deliveries are delayed until they find the problems.

4 hours ago, brommers said:

It is no wonder that the Thai aircraft regulatory authorities have a reputation for poor management. With the rest of the world issuing months long bans, and even Boeing now agreeing that it will take months to develop & install new software into these planes, a week long ban is ridiculous. What the hell are these dolts thinking!

Money.

5 hours ago, brommers said:

It is no wonder that the Thai aircraft regulatory authorities have a reputation for poor management. With the rest of the world issuing months long bans, and even Boeing now agreeing that it will take months to develop & install new software into these planes, a week long ban is ridiculous. What the hell are these dolts thinking!

You are not accusing them of think are you, shame!

5 hours ago, JimSaints said:

Thailand, once again last

No, the US took that prize.

5 hours ago, worgeordie said:

After a week allowed to fly again,even though problems with the aircraft might

not be rectified????

regards wrgeordie

"After a week allowed to fly again..."

Says who?  Nowhere has it been stated that they'll be in the air again after 7 days.

Well well well... The "safety last" U.S. FAA ends up eating their words, just a day or two after publicly proclaiming no need for a temporary stand-down on the aircraft... Hardly a ringing endorsement of their handling of this latest crash and the 737 Max issue...
 

Quote

On Mar 13th 2019 the FAA announced shortly after the President had signed the executive order, that they were probibiting Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to operate in US airspace and stated: "On March 13, 2019, the investigation of the ET302 crash developed new information from the wreckage concerning the aircraft’s configuration just after takeoff that, taken together with newly refined data from satellite-based tracking of the aircraft’s flight path, indicates some similarities between the ET302 and JT610 accidents that warrant further investigation of the possibility of a shared cause for the two incidents that needs to be better understood and addressed. Accordingly, the Acting Administrator is ordering all Boeing 737 MAX airplanes to be grounded pending further investigation."

 

http://avherald.com/h?article=4c534c4a&opt=0

 

Thai Lion Air told to ground Boeing MAX 9 for seven days

By The Nation

 

 

THE CIVIL Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) has ordered Thai Lion Air to immediately suspend the use of its three Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft on all routes for seven days, citing safety concerns. 
 

CAAT director-general Chula Sukmanop said the order will go into effect today, given that Boeing has yet to provide an explanation of the cause behind the recent crash of an Ethiopia Airlines 737 MAX 8 aircraft.

 

Due to safety concerns, CAAT has coordinated with Thai Lion Air, which has 34 aircraft in the fleet, three of which are 737 MAX 9 aircraft.

 

Thai Lion Air can use its other aircraft during the period, while CAAT thoroughly examines its three Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes, Chula added.

 

A CAAT statement issued yesterday said the agency had reviewed additional technical information related to the Ethiopia Airlines crash, in which all 157 people on board were killed.

 

“The decision was made after it was viewed that the [cause of the] accident may be [similar] on the operation of Boeing 737 MAX 9, though the real cause of the accident is not yet known clearly. Moreover, the aircraft manufacturer has yet to issue any risk-management measures or mechanisms that can ensure safety,” the statement read. 

 

Thai Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft that took off before the announcement are allowed to fly back.

 

CAAT will also examine Thai Lion Air’s risk-management measures as well as the training it provides to pilots flying all aircraft. It will also closely check the information provided by Boeing regarding ongoing safety examinations and reviews.

 

Several countries have banned the Boeing’s 737 MAX 8 medium-haul workhorse jet from their airspace after the Ethiopian Airlines crash. 

 

Several airlines have also grounded the MAX 8s in their fleet, but many others are continuing to fly the plane pending an investigation into the crash and possible guidance from Boeing.

 

A jet of the same model came down in Indonesia in October last year, killing all 189 people onboard.

 

Chula said airlines that operate in Thailand could continue to order the 737 MAX models as he believes Boeing will solve the problem quickly.

 

Nok Air’s acting chief executive officer Pravej Ongartsittigul said the airline plans to lease six Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, two of which should be delivered in two years. 

 

Pravej added that Nok Air will continue to closely monitor the situation and believes that by the time Boeing delivers the first lot, it will have completely solved the problems. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30365794

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-03-14

7 hours ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

Enough time for an adequately sized cake box to arrive. 

 

Fortunately for the flying public, I seriously doubt Boeing cares enough about Thai Lion Air to be delivering any overstuffed cake boxes in these parts...

 

Now the U.S. FAA on the other hand -- looking more stupid than the Thai CAA in this instance with Trump executive order mud all over their faces -- I have no doubt their kitchens and pantries, and those of their senior admins, are overflowing with cake boxes and all other sorts of goodies!

 

 

Edited March 14, 20197 yr by TallGuyJohninBKK

6 hours ago, cnx355 said:

Vietjet only fly Airbus A320 ans A321 now but last week their CEO announced the order of 50 B737 Max series. 

 

Now that was really great timing!  Not!!!

 

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Chula said airlines that operate in Thailand could continue to order the 737 MAX models as he believes Boeing will solve the problem quickly.

 

Good ole CAAT might be a tad over-optimistic about that....

 

The investigating agencies FIRST have to determine just what exactly the causes were of the two recent crashes, and then Boeing and the various operating airlines will have to make the resulting changes/adjustments.  That ain't gonna happen in the next 7 days.

 

Edited March 14, 20197 yr by TallGuyJohninBKK

8 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Money.

Explain how the CAAT banning the 737 Max is related to money.  I am sure this is going to be good, can't wait!  Try to avoid using the phrase "typical Thai greed" and instead explain your thought process here.

 

Money?