Donald Trump Grounds Boeing 737 MAX Airplanes Following Sunday Plane Crash

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump and his administration grounded Boeing’s airplanes from flying. This emergency order follows an Ethiopian Airlines plane crash that occurred on Sunday, where 157 people were killed, eight of them United Staes citizens. Pressure had been mounting on the Federal Aviation Administration to temporarily halt flights until the investigation into the Ethiopian crash is complete.

“We’re going to be issuing an emergency order of prohibition to ground all flights of the 737 Max 8 and the 737 Max 9 and planes associated with that line,” Trump announced on Wednesday. Trump also added that the White House has received “new information and physical evidence” as well as some “complaints.” Trump’s grounding will affect the Southwest and American airlines, both of which prominently utilize 737 MAX planes.

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On Tuesday, Trump had harshly criticized the increasing complexity on Twitter. In his second tweet, he added how he wouldn’t “want Albert Einstein” as a pilot, but rather “great flying professionals that are allowed to easily and quickly take control of a plane.”

Airplanes are becoming far too complex to fly. Pilots are no longer needed, but rather computer scientists from MIT. I see it all the time in many products. Always seeking to go one unnecessary step further, when often old and simpler is far better. Split second decisions are….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 12, 2019

….needed, and the complexity creates danger. All of this for great cost yet very little gain. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want Albert Einstein to be my pilot. I want great flying professionals that are allowed to easily and quickly take control of a plane!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 12, 2019

Trump’s emergency order echoes similar decrees other nations have enacted following the crash, including Canada, China and the European Union. Canada’s Transport Minister Marc Garneau announced earlier in the day that jets will be banned from flying into his country’s airspace, adding how other nations have issued similar rulings. “This safety notice is effective immediately, and will remain in place until further notice,” Garneau said.