Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) sent a letter to Daniel K. Elwell, the acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), urging the agency to ground all Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft operating in the United States until their safety can be confirmed.
The aircraft is under investigation following a crash near Jakarta, Indonesia, in October and the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines jet Sunday. Both aircraft crashed minutes after takeoff, killing everyone onboard. Eight U.S. citizens are among the dead this week.
“The National Transportation Safety Board will assist in the investigation of the Ethiopia Airlines crash,” Feinstein said. “Until the cause of the crash is known and it’s clear that similar risks aren’t present in the domestic fleet, I believe all Boeing 737 Max 8 series aircraft operating in the United States should be temporarily grounded. This aircraft model represents only a small fraction of the domestic fleet, and several other countries have already taken this important step, including China and Indonesia.”
Feinstein urged Elwell to take precautions that are advisable and practicable to protect the public from unnecessary, potentially life-threatening risks.
The FAA said Monday it will continue to use the jet. Other countries, including Australia, China and Great Britain, have grounded the 737.