Acting FAA Administrator Daniel Elwell said on Tuesday that the agency’s review of the Boeing 737 Max has provided no basis so far to ground the aircraft, doubling down on the FAA’s earlier determination that the plane remains airworthy despite two fatal crashes in less than a year.
Elwell went on to say that other civil aviation authorities have not provided data that would warrant action at this time.
Earlier Tuesday, Europe’s aviation regulator said it was suspending operations of Boeing 737 Max jets. China, Indonesia, Singapore, Australia and Malaysia are also a part of the list of countries that have suspended operations and banned the 737 Max from their airspace.
On Sunday, an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa, killing all 157 people aboard. This is the second fatal crash for the jet in 5 months.
On Monday, the FAA said in a notice that the aircraft is still airworthy and expects to mandate design enhancements to the automated system and signaling on board the Boeing planes by April 2019. Boeing is also is planning to update training, the FAA said.
Boeing shares were down more than 6 percent on Tuesday, and closed at $375.41.
