As the investigation continues into the causes of the crash of one of its Boeing planes in China, the company is grounding its planes of the same model.
The air disaster could prove to be one of the deadliest in China since 1994. A Boeing 737-800 NG belonging to China Eastern Airlines with 132 people on board crashed in southern China on Monday. The human toll of the tragedy is not yet confirmed, but the news sent shockwaves across the country, even causing Xi Jinping to react. “shocked”. The Chinese president called on investigators to “determine the causes of the accident as quickly as possible”.
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Even before the results of the investigation are known, China Eastern, the second largest Chinese airline, has already reacted. All of its Boeing 737-800 NGs are now grounded. That is more than 111 devices in total. On Tuesday, China Eastern announced the suspension of nearly 1,910 flights in this context of aircraft shutdown but also the resurgence of Covid.
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This accident once again shines the spotlight on Boeing, which has already been questioned in recent years for the safety of its aircraft. The company, whose title lost 6% on Wall Street on Monday after the announcement of the crash, indicates “work to gather more information”. Last December, Boeing finally obtained from Chinese aviation authorities the end of the flight ban on the 737 Max in place since March 2019, following a previous series of air crashes. China is a central market for Boeing, which generates nearly 25% of its sales there.
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