Here’s What You Need to Know About The Boeing 737 Max 8 Crash

Many are mourning the deadly plane crash that occurred Sunday, March 11, 2019. In plowed farm field lies Aircraft Boeing 737 Max 8, killing 157 passengers. The plane took off from Addis Ababa. After six minutes of being in flight, the pilot asked to turn around back to the airport. Sources say that after the initial contact back to base the plane lost all connection with ground level officials. In the debris of the crash, both black boxes were able to be recovered, which has been used to piece together what actually made flight 302 go down. 

How could this happen?

If you remember back in October 2018, there was a crash very similar to the March 2019’s crash. There has been many speculated on why this model is dropping from the air and vanishing from the grid, However, Boeing has come out with a statement that they will update their software. One video stated that in both instances that one wing from the plane were both faced in an inward position as it fell. Indicating that the software may play a big role in these misfortunate occurrences.

What Happen Next?

Immediately, Ethiopia grounded all of its Boeing 737 models until further notice. Over 50 countries followed in their footsteps such as Iraq (banned them completely from entering their airspace), Germany, China, the United States and Canada. What’s interesting about the U.S is that they did not ground their’s immediately like most countries. Do they believe that they have a superior protocol than other countries? Maybe, but Donald Trump, did come out with a statement on March 13, 2019, notifying the U.S that all Boeing 737 Aircraft will be deplaned. Though Boeing 737 has been grounded there are few airlines that continue flying the aircraft, such as American Airlines, United Airlines and West Jet said CNN. Southwest recently sent an email blast to all of its customers with a statement that reads, “Safety is our top priority. Its always has been. It always must be.”- CEO. Gary Kelly

The Lucky One

Antonis Mavropoulos is a husband, father and also the man who missed his connecting flight by minutes. Mavropoulos was running behind to catch flight 302 due to his baggage being delayed. Shortly after the crash that was en route to Kenya. The Greek businessman was pulled by security, at that moment he was notified that the flight he missed was no longer in the air. “I collapsed because I realized how lucky I was.” Antonis Mavropoulos is very grateful to be alive.

Do you check what model plane when you’re flying?

Most American’s do not pay attention to the model plane that they’re about to board. A large percentage of them did not know that the information was accessible to them. Many American’s did not believe it was necessary to check the model since air travel is seen as the safest way to travel. If you are wanting to know what model your flying on, it’ll be listed on your itinerary or use www.flightstats.com. 

Close Out  

Within this last week, there have been so many speculations on whether it is the software or another cause. In an NPR interview with David Schaper said that he brought it to the Federal Aviation Administration attention that something is up with the 737 Max 8 model (prior to the devastation), however, nothing was done. “One of the key pieces of evidence, or two key pieces of evidence, are the so-called black boxes – which are actually orange, as we’ve reported before – the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder,” says David Schaper.

 Flight 302, a devastating tragedy. Families and friends visit the ruins to gather pieces of their belongings. Investigators say it’ll take months for DNA to identify all passengers. As for Boeing, there are still unanswered questions as their stocks fluctuate. 

Citations

Photo credits: 1, 2 ,3 ,4

Sources: 1, 2, 3    

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