3. Why is early speculation about the cause of a crash often wrong, according to the author?
4. In what ways are Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 and the Lion Air crash in October similar? How are they different?
5. When was the Boeing 737 created and when was the Max 8 model introduced? What is unique about the new model?
6. What is the safety record of the 737?
Finally, tell us more about what you think:
As public safety concerns have mounted, aviation regulators from countries around the world, including the United States, have grounded the use of the Boeing 737 Max 8. Take a look at the map “From 8,600 Flights to Zero” and answer these three questions:
• What do you notice?
• What do you wonder?
• What might be going on in this graph?
Then read the following excerpt from the article “Boeing Planes Are Grounded in U.S. After Days of Pressure.”
President Trump announced on Wednesday that the United States was grounding Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft, reversing an earlier decision by American regulators to keep the jets flying after a second deadly crash in Ethiopia.
The order came hours after Canada’s transport minister said that newly available satellite-tracking data suggested similarities between the crash in Ethiopia and another accident last October. In a statement released after Mr. Trump’s announcement, the F.A.A. also cited “newly refined satellite data” as supporting the decision to ground the jets.
The Federal Aviation Administration had for days resisted calls to ground the plane even as safety regulators in some 42 countries had banned flights by the jets. As recently as Tuesday, the agency said it had seen “no systemic performance issues” that would prompt it to halt flights of the jet.
“The safety of the American people, of all people, is our paramount concern,” Mr. Trump told reporters in the White House.
What new information led the U.S. and Canada to ground the Boeing 737 Max 8? Do you think the Trump administration and the F.A.A. made the right decision? Or should they have waited for more information from the crash investigation?
Related Resources:
Answers to Your Questions About the Boeing 737 Max 8
Three Generations of a Canadian Family Died in Ethiopian Plane Crash
