Boeing crashes alarm travelers, groundings snowball

Published March 12, 2019

A worker stands near a Boeing 737 MAX 8 airplane parked at Boeing Co.'s Renton Assembly Plant, Monday, March 11, 2019, in Renton, Wash. Airlines in several countries grounded the same model jetliner Monday following Sunday's crash of an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8, the second devastating crash of one of the planes in five months. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Fatal crashes of Boeing 737 Max 8 planes less than five months apart have alarmed the public, triggering a wave of groundings worldwide, but experts say reported similarities between the two disasters are not conclusive evidence of a shared cause.

The Ethiopian Airlines crash Sunday which claimed 157 lives was the second for the new Boeing plane after a Max 8 jet operated by Indonesia's Lion Air plunged into the Java Sea in October, killing 189 people.

Jakarta-based aviation expert Gerry Soejatman said airlines are being inundated with calls from travelers which along with governments grounding Max 8 fleets "shows that the public is scared."

Aviation experts contacted by Associated Press said only flight data recorders can provide conclusive evidence about what caused the Ethiopian Airlines crash.

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