'It Can Fly Itself Into The Ground': Aviation Expert Warns Boeing 737 Max Planes Defective As President Trump Grounds Aircraft
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WASHINGTON (CBS/AP) -- President Donald Trump issued Wednesday an "emergency order" to ground all Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 aircraft following the Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed 157 people. Many nations in the world had already barred the Boeing 737 Max 8 from its airspace. One aviation expert told Eyewitness News that the planes are defective and can "fly itself into the ground."
The FAA said new evidence from the Ethiopian Airlines crash site coupled with its own data gathering led it to order the grounding of Boeing 737 Max planes.
The agency's order Wednesday said new information had been uncovered from the wreckage of the Ethiopian Airlines jet. That, taken together with data from satellite-based tracking of the plane's flight path, pointed to similarities with an October crash of a Lion Air 737 Max in the Java Sea.
The FAA said it was ordering the jets' grounding while investigators determine whether there was a shared cause of the two crashes.
Pilots and airlines have been notified.
Trump added the safety of the American people is of "paramount concern."
For its part, Boeing said it supported the FAA's move out of an abundance of caution and to reassure the flying public of the aircrafts' safety. But it said it continues to have full confidence in the safety of the 737 Max planes.
John Gagliano, an aviation expert and former Navy pilot, said the decision by U.S. aviation regulators is a smart one, since he believes there are big problems with the aircraft's computer system.
"It's a defective product, it's as simple as that. The Boeing 737 Max 8 is defective, it can fly itself into the ground. The pilot has to overcome those control forces and take emergency action to prevent that from happening. It's a good thing that it's grounded," said Gagliano.
South Jersey native Matt Vecere was one of eight Americans killed in the Ethiopian Airlines crash over the weekend.
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(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
