40 bodies recovered, dozens more feared dead in Pakistan plane crash

At least 40 dead bodies have been recovered after a Pakistani plane crashed with nearly 100 people on board in the southern city of Karachi on Friday, according to rescue officials, with dozens more feared dead.

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane was close to landing when it came down among houses, sparking an explosion and killing several people on the ground.

"We have recovered 40 plus bodies so far," Major Mohammad Mansoor from the Pakistan Rangers, who was overseeing the rescue operation, told AFP.

Faisal Edhi, who heads the charitable Edhi Foundation that was assisting rescuers, gave a slightly higher figure saying at least 42 dead bodies had been recovered from the area.

"As per our estimates there are around 50 more dead bodies under the debris," he said in a live television broadcast.

At least two passengers survived the crash, according to Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, the information minister in Sindh province where Karachi is located.

Plumes of smoke were sent into the air as rescue workers and residents searched the debris for survivors and firefighters tried to extinguish the flames. An AFP reporter witnessed charred bodies being loaded into ambulances.

Sarfraz Ahmed -- a firefighter at the crash site -- told AFP the nose of the Airbus A320 and the fuselage had been heavily damaged by the impact, adding that rescuers had pulled four bodies from the wrecked aircraft, including some who were still wearing seatbelts.

Seemin Jamali, a director from Jinnah Post Graduate Medical College in the city, said eight dead and 15 injured people had been brought to the facility.

"They were all from the ground, no (plane) passengers have been brought here," she said.

- Technical fault -

The plane had developed a technical fault, interior minister Ijaz Ahmad Shah said, adding that the pilot issued a mayday call after the craft lost an engine.

PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez said there were 91 passengers and seven crew on board the flight, which lost contact with air traffic control just after 2.30pm (0930 GMT).

An aviation authority spokesperson said the number of crew on board was eight.

Residents near the scene said their walls shook before a big explosion erupted as the aircraft slammed into their neighbourhood.

"I was coming from the mosque when I saw the plane tilting on one side. The engines' sounds were quite weird. It was so low that the walls of my house were trembling," said 14-year-old witness Hassan.

Karachi resident Mudassar Ali said he "heard a big bang and woke up to people calling for the fire brigade".

The disaster comes as Pakistanis across the country are preparing to celebrate the end of Ramadan and the beginning of Eid al-Fitr, with many travelling back to their homes in cities and villages.

Abdul Sattar Khokhar, a spokesman for the country's aviation authority, said the Airbus A320 was travelling from Lahore to Karachi.

- 'Prayers & condolences' -

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said he was "shocked and saddened" by the crash, tweeting that he was in touch with the state airline's chief executive.

"Prayers & condolences go to families of the deceased," he wrote on Twitter.

Foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the plane crashed into a residential area minutes before it was due to land.

The Pakistan military said security forces had been deployed to the neighbourhood and helicopters were being used to survey the damage and help ongoing rescue operations, while offering condolences over the "loss of precious lives" in the incident.

Commercial flights resumed only days ago, after planes were grounded during a lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic.

Pakistan has a chequered military and civilian aviation safety record, with frequent plane and helicopter crashes over the years.

In 2016, a Pakistan International Airlines plane burst into flames after one of its two turboprop engines failed while flying from the remote north to Islamabad, killing more than 40 people.

The deadliest air disaster on Pakistani soil was in 2010, when an Airbus A321 operated by private airline Airblue and flying from Karachi crashed into the hills outside Islamabad as it came into land, killing all 152 people on board.

An official report blamed the accident on a confused captain and a hostile cockpit atmosphere.

PIA, one of the world's leading airlines until the 1970s, now suffers from a sinking reputation due to frequent cancellations, delays and financial troubles. It has been involved in numerous controversies over the years, including the jailing of a drunk pilot in Britain in 2013.

Agence France-Presse

'He fought like a hero': Young doctor among 8 killed in ill-fated medical flight

MANILA -  A young doctor was among the 8 people who lost their lives when a Japan-bound plane erupted in flames during takeoff at the Manila airport this weekend, his sister said. 

Dr. Nicko Bautista, 33, was on the Lionair-operated Westwind aircraft that was headed for Haneda airport Sunday, said his sister Ria. None of the medical evacuation mission's 6 crew members and 2 passengers, an American and a Canadian, had survived, investigators earlier said. 

"No words can describe how devastating it is to lose a family member in such a horrific way. How do you process something like this. How," Ria, a singer-song writer, wrote on Facebook. 

"All I know is that he fought like a hero and I can only hope that his fight would not be in vain. RIP, Nicko. I love you my brother. I will honor you forever," she added. 

In a separate statement, the Department of Health said that hours before the accident, "the pilot and crew members just finished transporting health commodities and supplies to Zamboanga, Mactan, Iloilo, and Butuan."

"We would like to offer our sincerest condolences to the family and friends of the victims involved in the crash. Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time," the DOH added. 

Bautista was a doctor at the Mandaluyong City Medical Center's surgery department, said his sister. 

He had said that he "can't wait" for the novel coronavirus epidemic to end so that he could spend time with his family and friends. 

"I can't wait to not think about if I'm going to be sick or not. If I'm going to be another number of the census board... Let's fight this, and in all honesty, I'm scared as hell," he said in a Facebook post, a screenshot of which was shared by Ria. 

In a separate post, Bautista also urged patients to disclose their travel history, after one COVID-19 patient's failed to do so and passed the disease to a doctor, which led to his death. 

"When you lie, we die... Consider your actions. We try our best to protect you from this horrid disease, but who will protect us? Kindly do your part. Stay at home. Don't lie to your doctors. Check your privilege," he said last March 21. 

It was not immediately clear what caused the plane crash, which the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said might take a year to investigate. 

Lionair is also the owner of a medical evacuation aircraft that crashed in Calamba, Laguna and left 9 dead in September last year. Authorities are still investigating the incident, said CAAP. 

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8 killed as fire engulfs plane on NAIA runway

MANILA - Eight were killed as flames engulfed a plane taking off from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Sunday, authorities confirmed.

The plane, which was on a medical evacuation mission to Haneda, Japan, was carrying 2 passengers and 6 crew members, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said in a statement.

The accident happened around 8 p.m. as the plane, identified as a West Wind 24 aircraft, was taking off at the end of Runway 24, MIAA said. 

MIAA's Fire and Rescue team were immediately dispatched to the site to douse the flames with chemical foam.

"Unfortunately, no passenger survived the accident," MIAA said. 

Authorities have temporarily closed the runway as investigators from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board of the Civil Aeronautics Authority of the Philippines determine the cause of the incident, the agency added.

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Airplane accident kills 3 in Turkey

Police officers inspect the Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737-86J plane, that overran the runway during landing and crashed, at Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport, Turkey on Wednesday. At least three people were reported killed and 173 injured.

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Canada's Trudeau says evidence indicates Iran shot down Ukraine jet

OTTAWA—Canada has intelligence from multiple sources indicating a Ukrainian airliner that crashed on Wednesday near Tehran was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday.

US officials had earlier said the airliner was most likely brought down accidentally by Iranian air defenses. All 176 people on board, including 63 Canadians, were killed.


"We have intelligence from multiple sources, including our allies and our own intelligence. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile," Trudeau told a news conference in Ottawa.

"This may well have been unintentional. This new information reinforces the need for a thorough investigation into this matter," he continued.

Trudeau said his government would not rest until it had obtained closure, transparency, accountability and justice.

He also said he had spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who told him that Iran would allow investigators from Kiev into the country.

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Searching for clues

Passengers' belongings are collected after a Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 crashed shortly after take-off from Iran's Imam Khomeini airport. 

The crash on Wednesday, which killed all on board, comes at a tense time for both Iran and Boeing. Iran's top general Qassem Soleimani was killed in a US airstrike last week, while Boeing is still reeling from the crashes of its 737 Max airplanes. 

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Ukraine passenger jet crashes in Iran, killing at least 170

TEHRAN - A Ukrainian airliner carrying at least 170 people crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran on Wednesday, killing all on board, Iran state media reported.

The Boeing 737 had left Tehran's international airport bound for Kiev, semi-official news agency ISNA said.

"Obviously it is impossible that passengers" on flight PS-752 are alive, Red Crescent head Morteza Salimi told semi-official news agency ISNA, adding that 170 passengers and crew had boarded the plane.

State news agency IRNA said 167 passengers and nine crew members had boarded the aircraft, which was operated by Ukraine International Airlines.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed all those on board the plane were killed.

"According to preliminary data, all passengers and crew members are dead," he wrote on Facebook of the Ukraine International Airlines plane, which was bound for Kiev.

The Red Crescent said teams were assisted by soldiers and firefighters in the effort to recover bodies.

"After six o'clock (0230 GMT) this morning we were informed that a passenger plane crashed in the vicinity of Shahriar," said Shahin Fathi, the head of its search and rescue unit.

"All operational teams were dispatched to the area," he told state television. "Unfortunately... we haven't found anyone alive."

BODIES SCATTERED

"Everyone is helping so that we can gather all the bodies that have been scattered in a wide area," said Fathi.

Press TV, state television's English-language news broadcaster, said the plane went down in the vicinity of Parand, a city in Tehran province.

The crash was likely to have been caused by "technical difficulties", it reported, citing Ali Khashani, spokesman for Imam Khomeini International Airport.

"The plane caught fire after crashing," said Press TV.

A video aired by the state media broadcaster appeared to show the plane already on fire, falling from the sky.

American airline manufacturer Boeing tweeted: "We are aware of the media reports out of Iran and we are gathering more information."

US-IRAN TENSIONS

The crash came shortly after Iran said it fired missiles at Iraqi bases in revenge for the killing of one of the Islamic republic's top military commanders in a US drone strike on Friday.

Following the missile strikes, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it was banning US-registered carriers from flying over Iraq, Iran and the Gulf after rocket attacks on US forces in Iraq.

"The (FAA) issues Notices to Airmen tonight outlining flight restrictions that prohibit US civil aviation operators from operating in the airspace over Iraq, Iran and the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman," it said in a statement.

"The FAA will continue closely monitoring events in the Middle East."

Iran launched the missiles after a US drone strike killed Qasem Soleimani, a hugely popular figure who headed the foreign operations arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed "severe revenge" for the assassination and declared three days of mourning following the assassination which shocked the Islamic republic.

The assassination of Soleimani set off an escalating war of words between Iran and the US.

In Tehran, President Hassan Rouhani on Monday warned Trump to "never threaten" Iran, after the US leader issued a US strike list of 52 targets in the Islamic republic.

neg-burs/dv/kir

Agence France-Presse

Boeing, US regulators review wiring issue on grounded 737 MAX

WASHINGTON -- Boeing Co and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed on Sunday they are reviewing a wiring issue that could potentially cause a short circuit on the grounded 737 MAX.

Boeing spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Sunday the US planemaker "identified this issue as part of that rigorous process, and we are working with the FAA to perform the appropriate analysis. It would be premature to speculate as to whether this analysis will lead to any design changes."

The New York Times reported Boeing is reviewing whether two bundles of wiring are too close together, which could lead to a short circuit and potentially result in a crash if pilots did not respond appropriately.

The FAA said in a statement Sunday the agency and company "are analyzing certain findings from a recent review of the proposed modifications to the Boeing 737 MAX." The agency added it would "ensure that all safety related issues identified during this process are addressed."

Boeing is currently working to design separating the wiring bundles if necessary and conducting extensive analysis to establish if the electrical fault could occur in a real-world scenario, a company official said.

Officials said the FAA had directed Boeing to complete an audit in December. The wiring issue could push back the return of the MAX, the officials added. Reuters has reported previously the FAA is not likely to approve the plane until at least February and might not until March or later.

The FAA flagged the wiring issue as potentially "catastrophic." It is possible other protections like shielding, insulation and circuit breakers could prevent the short circuit, a company official said.

Boeing will halt production of the 737 MAX this month following the grounding in March of its best-selling plane after two fatal crashes in five months killed 346 people.

Last month, Boeing's board fired Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg after repeatedly failing to contain the fallout from the crashes that tarnished its reputation with airlines and regulators.

The crisis has cost Boeing $9 billion, and has hurt suppliers and airlines.

Boeing is struggling to mend relations with the U.S. and international regulators it needs to win over to get the jet back in the air.

Separately, US and European regulators are expected to return to Iowa this week to review a software documentation audit of the 737 MAX that was not completed last year, officials said Sunday. FAA and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency are scheduled to meet in Seattle this week and then return to Rockwell Collins facility in Cedar Rapids, Iowa next weekend to review the audit.

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Vintage B-17 bomber makes fiery fatal landing in Connecticut

A World War Two-era B-17 bomber trying to make an emergency landing at an airport near Hartford, Connecticut, crashed and burned, killing an undetermined number of people and closing the airport for several hours, authorities said.

The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress returned to Bradley International Airport within 10 minutes of takeoff after reporting "some type of problem," but lost control on the runway and struck a maintenance facility and tanks of de-icing fluid, Connecticut Airport Authority Executive Director Kevin Dillon told a news conference.

Rescue crews from numerous emergency response agencies raced to the fiery scene where a plume of thick, black smoke billowed skyward after the crash at the end of the runway shortly before 10 a.m. EDT (10 p.m. Wednesday in Manila).

Officials said the crash of the civilian-registered 4-engine plane killed some of the 10 passengers and 3 crew members aboard, but they declined to say how many, pending identification of the bodies pulled from the smoldering wreckage.

"The victims are very difficult to identify," said Commissioner James Rovella of the state Department of Emergency Service and Public Protection. "We don't want to make a mistake."

A maintenance worker on the ground was also involved in the crash, officials said.

The Hartford Courant newspaper, citing unidentified sources, reported that at least 5 people were killed and 9 were injured.

The airport, located in the town of Windsor Locks, was closed for about 3-1/2 hours after the crash.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team to investigate.

US Senator Richard Blumenthal said investigators would very carefully examine the potential causes of the crash of the vintage plane, 1 of only 18 B-17 aircraft in the country.

"There's a real need for scrutiny and oversight if these planes are going to continue flying," the Connecticut Democrat told the news conference.

Bradley Airport said the plane was operated by the Massachusetts-based Collings Foundation, which is dedicated to the preservation and public display of automotive and aviation-related history, according to its website.

The foundation issued a statement immediately after the crash thanking the airport's first responders for their efforts.

"The Collings Foundation flight team is fully cooperating with officials to determine the cause of the crash of the B-17 Flying Fortress and will comment further when details become known," it said.

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Pakistani military plane crashes near garrison city, kills 17

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan - A Pakistani military aircraft on a training flight crashed in a built-up area in the garrison city of Rawalpindi early on Tuesday killing all five crew members and 12 civilians and setting off a blaze that left a pile of smoking rubble.

A statement from the Pakistani military said the aircraft was on a routine training flight when it crashed but there was no immediate word on the cause of the accident or the type of aircraft involved.

Military and civilian rescue workers took at least 12 injured civilians to hospitals in the city and extinguished the fire, leaving the smoking ruins of a house which appeared to have borne the brunt of the crash.

"The plane hit the side of the building and the structure it has crashed into has completely collapsed,' an army officer at the scene said.

The site, in a village on the edge of an affluent housing development called Bahia Town, was surrounded by military and rescue service vehicles and security officials pushed back a crowd of bystanders.

Rawalpindi is close to the capital Islamabad and is where the headquarters of the Pakistan army is based.

Earlier, the website of newspaper The News International carried footage showing a building engulfed in flames in the immediate aftermath of the crash.

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Boeing to make $50M in payments to 737 MAX crash victims' families

WASHINGTON -- Boeing Co said on Wednesday it would dedicate half of a $100 million fund it created after two crashes of its 737 MAX planes to provide payments to families of those killed, with veteran US compensation expert Ken Feinberg hired by the world's largest plane maker to oversee the distribution.

The announcement of Feinberg's hiring came minutes before a US House of Representatives hearing featuring dramatic testimony by Paul Njoroge, a father who lost 3 children, his wife and mother-in-law in a 737 MAX Ethiopian Air crash in March.

Feinberg told Reuters his team would "start immediately drafting a claims protocol for those eligible," with the first meeting with officials from Chicago-based Boeing later this week in Washington. Feinberg has administered many compensation funds including for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, General Motors ignition switch crashes and numerous school shootings.

The 737 MAX, Boeing's best-selling jet, was grounded globally in March following the Ethiopian Airlines crash after a similar Lion Air disaster in Indonesia in October. The 2 crashes killed 346 people.

Njoroge, 35, told reporters after he testified he did not think the public would trust Boeing going forward. "Do you want to fly in those planes? Do you want your children to fly in those planes?" Njoroge asked. "I don't have any more children."

Njoroge told a House subcommittee he still has "nightmares about how (his children) must have clung to their mother crying" during the doomed flight.

Njoroge, who was born in Kenya and lives in Canada, said Boeing has blamed "innocent pilots who had no knowledge and were given no information of the new and flawed MCAS system that could overpower pilots."

Boeing did not address specific questions raised by Njoroge but said in a statement "we truly regret the loss of lives in both of these accidents and we are deeply sorry for the impact to the families and loved ones of those on board."

A Boeing official told Reuters last month that after a new software flaw emerged the company would not submit an MCAS software upgrade and training revision until September, which means the planes will not resume flying until November at the earliest. US airlines have canceled flights through early November as a result of the 737 MAX's grounding.

Boeing shares closed up 1.9 percent Wednesday.

Acting FAA Administrator Dan Elwell told Fox Business Network on Wednesday that the agency has made a lot of progress since the plane's grounding.

"We have discovered some anomalies and then we have directed Boeing to mitigate those anomalies," Elwell said, declining to set any timetable for returning the plane to service.

"The 737 MAX is not going to fly until it passes the most thorough and intense look," said Elwell, adding that he had spent several hours with Njoroge during a recent meeting.

Boeing said on July 3 it would give $100 million over multiple years to local governments and non-profit organizations to help families and communities affected by the crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.

Feinberg, who will jointly administer the fund with lawyer Camille Biros, said the other $50 million in the fund was earmarked for government and community projects.

Boeing reiterated on Wednesday that the money distributed through the fund would be independent from the outcome of any lawsuits. The company is facing a slew of litigation from the families of victims of both crashes.

"Through our partnership with Feinberg and Biros, we hope affected families receive needed assistance as quickly and efficiently as possible," Boeing Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg said in a statement.

Boeing's initial announcement of the $100 million fund was met with anger by some victims' families, who described the offer as a publicity stunt.

At the hearing in Washington, Representative Peter DeFazio, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, said he would call Boeing officials to testify at a hearing. DeFazio said the committee was in the middle of an in-depth investigation and had just received a "trove" of documents that panel investigators were reviewing.

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9 dead as plane crashes in Hawaii, believed during skydiving trip

Nine passengers and crew were killed on Friday night when their plane crashed near an airfield in Hawaii, authorities said, during what broadcaster CNN said was a skydiving trip.

The twin-engine King Air plane went down near the Dillingham Airfield, the Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) said. The fire service said the aircraft was engulfed in flames when fire crews arrived and there appeared to be no survivors.

"We are still gathering information as to the intent of the flight and what they were doing," Honolulu Fire Department Chief Manuel Neves told a news conference.

CNN said the plane was on a skydiving excursion and that Federal Aviation Administration would investigate the crash.

Dillingham is a joint-use airfield operated by the HDOT under a 25-year lease from the U.S. army, according to its website.

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Boeing CEO faces shareholders for first time since 737 MAX crashes

CHICAGO, United States - Boeing co-chief executive Dennis Muilenburg will face shareholders on Monday for the first time since 2 fatal crashes that led to the 737 MAX's grounding worldwide and triggered investigations, lawsuits and a sharp loss in share value.

Battling the biggest crisis of his tenure, Muilenburg will try to bolster investor confidence in the manufacturer's future as well as that of its fastest-selling airplane as questions linger over the model's safety.

Family and friends of 24-year-old American Samya Stumo, one of the victims of the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX on March 10, will hold a silent protest outside the meeting site.

That crash, which killed all 157 on board when it plunged to the ground shortly after takeoff, came five months after a similar Lion Air nose-dive that killed all 189 passengers and crew.

Muilenburg will hold his first press conference since the grounding after the general annual shareholder meeting in Chicago, scheduled for (10 p.m. in Manila).

Boeing is under pressure to deliver a software fix and a new pilot training package that will convince global regulators, and the flying public, that the aircraft is safe to fly again.

The US Federal Aviation Administration could clear Boeing the 737 MAX jet to fly in late May or the first part of June, 2 people familiar with the matter said on Friday, though Boeing has yet to submit the updated software and training for review.

Some pilots have warned that draft training proposals do not go far enough to address their concerns.

Meanwhile, deliveries of the 737 MAX, which airlines around the world had been relying on to service a growing air travel industry for years to come, are on hold.

Last week Boeing abandoned its 2019 financial outlook, halted share buybacks and said lowered production due to the 737 MAX grounding had cost it at least $1 billion so far.

Shareholders have filed a lawsuit accusing the company of defrauding them by concealing safety deficiencies in the plane. The model is also the target of investigations by US transportation authorities and the Department of Justice.

Muilenburg is Boeing's chairman and president in addition to CEO, and faces calls that could strip him of one of those titles at Monday's meeting. Boeing has recommended against the move.

Boeing must also contend with lawsuits filed on behalf of dozens of victims of the 2 crashes, including the family of Stumo, who are asking whether the Ethiopian disaster could have been prevented after what happened to Lion Air.

"Those in charge of creating and selling this plane did not treat Samya as they would their own daughters," her mother Nadia Milleron told reporters in early April.

Shares in the company, worth $214 billion, have lost nearly 10 percent of their value since the March 10 crash. 

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6 die after plane hits house in Chile

SANTIAGO, Chile - Six people died on Tuesday after a light aircraft crashed into a house in southern Chile, authorities said.

The plane plummeted after getting entangled in power lines shortly after take-off from La Paloma airport in Puerto Montt, a port city 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) to the south of the capital Santiago, said Harry Jurgensen, the governor of the Los Lagos region.

Local television pictures showed the house, which caught fire after being hit by the plane, completely gutted.

The plane's tail could be seen on television images lying in the garden of the destroyed house.

Authorities did not reveal the identity of the victims but said the pilot was among the dead -- two women and four men.

No one was in the house when the plane hit.

The aircraft was owned by the "Archipielago" company, which operates commercial flights in a region that is difficult to access.

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Boeing under pressure from canceled flights, Trump tweets

NEW YORK -- Boeing faces a wave of flight cancellations by US airlines and pressure from President Donald Trump to rebrand its top-selling 737 MAX aircraft, a month after the plane was grounded worldwide in the wake of two deadly crashes.

American and Southwest Airlines say the grounding will disrupt scheduled flights through the summer, during the peak travel season which helps generate corporate profits.

American is canceling all 737 MAX flights through August 19 while Southwest, which owns the largest 737 MAX fleet, with 34 planes, is canceling them until Aug. 5.

United Airlines said it had previously used spare aircraft and "creative solutions" to keep from having to cancel flights but cancellations in the busy summer travel season could no longer be avoided.

"No one knows when the FAA review will be complete, so we've decided to pull MAX flights out of our schedule through early July," a spokesperson told AFP on Monday.

In all, an average of 275 flights a day will be canceled, which are likely to put a dent in airline profits and could cause the companies to raise airfares.

American already cut a key industry revenue metric -- Total Revenue per Available Seat-Mile, or TRASM -- saying it will rise one percent in 2019, down from a prior estimate of two percent.

Southwest is allowing affected passengers to reschedule flights at no additional cost.

"Neither Airbus nor Boeing like cancellations and there are stiff contracts which make this very difficult," said Scott Hamilton, managing editor of the aviation news site Leeham News and Analysis.

"The companies will swap airplane types, however, if it comes to this."

All 737 MAX aircraft have been banned from the world's skies since mid-March after suffering two fatal crashes less than five months apart: a Lion Air flight crashed in the Java Sea in October, leaving 189 dead, and the Ethiopian Airlines crash on March 10, which killed 157 people.

Crash investigators have zeroed in on the planes' anti-stall system, the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS.

And Boeing, which has already ceased 737 MAX deliveries and slowed the pace of production, a buildup of delays could increase the penalties it must pay client airlines, Hamilton said.

Trump tweeted early Monday that Boeing had to give its scandal-stricken aircraft a new image.

REBUILDING TRUST

"What do I know about branding, maybe nothing (but I did become President!), but if I were Boeing, I would FIX the Boeing 737 MAX, add some additional great features, & REBRAND the plane with a new name," he said.

But Hamilton said Trump was right to doubt his own expertise.

"Trump is a boob. Boeing isn't going to rebrand the 737," Hamilton said, pointing to Boeing's log of more than 4,600 backorders, a key sales revenue driver, and adding that the order cancellations so far were "inconsequential."

Aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia of Teal Group agreed.

"Pretty much all of President Trump's pronouncements on aviation are safely and best ignored," he said.

Boeing is finalizing software upgrades for the MCAS, which it has pledged to submit to regulators in the coming weeks so that the 737 MAX grounding order can be lifted.

"We're focused on testing and implementing the software update and rebuilding the trust of our airline customers, pilots and the traveling public," a spokesperson told AFP.

"We know we have a deep responsibility to everyone who flies on our airplanes to ensure that the MAX is one of the safest aircraft ever to fly."

Rebranding the aircraft would impose additional costs on the airlines which would be required to fully retrain pilots, while an updated model involves less intense additional training.

Flight cancellations show the airlines, that had hoped to have the planes back in the air by May, now expect it will be longer before the aircraft can return to service.

Aviation analysts largely agree and expect the grounding to be lifted by the end of August.

In the meantime, the industry is working to regain the trust of the flying public.

The US Federal Aviation Administration, which must certify the 737 MAX's airworthiness, released a video last week in which its interim chief Daniel Elwell said the agency was working to keep pilots informed.

The FAA also said the agency would not rush to get the 737 MAX flying again.

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737 MAX disaster pushes Boeing into crisis mode

NEW YORK -- After a second air disaster involving the 737 MAX 8, aviation giant Boeing swung into crisis mode, losing $25 billion of market capitalization and suffering a severe hit to its reputation.

That was made worse by the company's response, according to industry experts, who described their efforts variously as "terrible," and "rough."

The tragedy of the Ethiopian Airlines flight on Sunday, in which all 157 people on board perished, renewed fears about the safety of the plane, and led to it being grounded worldwide -- although the US decision was not made for three days.

"It's been a rough week for them," said Matt Yemma, a crisis communication specialist at Peaks Strategies, based in Connecticut.

Boeing -- which in the first days after the accident said the MAX was reliable and safe -- could have announced it was voluntarily grounding the planes on Sunday to restore confidence and ensure the flying public they were on top of the problem, he said.

"Instead they just kind of let things dragged on and they end up losing a lot of market cap and a lot of business."

It was not until Wednesday after many governments and airlines worldwide had already banned the plane, that Boeing followed suit "out of an abundance of caution."

This was the second tragic accident in less than five months involving this model, which has been in service since May 2017, after the crash of a Lion Air flight in October which killed 189 people. 

A malfunction of the new MCAS stall prevention system on the MAX was implicated in the Lion Air accident in Indonesia. 

And the Federal Aviation Administration said evidence at the crash site in Ethiopia and new satellite data showed similarities and warranted "further investigation of the possibility of a shared cause for the two incidents."

And despite the growing use of the MAX worldwide, in China and Europe in particular, Boeing only issued brief statements, and meanwhile appeared to be attempting to prevent the US authorities from grounding the plane. 

Two days after the accident, the company's CEO Dennis Muilenburg spoke on the phone with President Donald Trump, who had complained on Twitter that modern airplanes were becoming too complex for pilots to handle. 

'American arrogance'

And it didn't help that the FAA announced it had ordered Boeing to make a software fix to the MCAS flaw, which some American pilots also encountered, raising questions about whether the manufacturer was diligent about getting the word out.

"It's the American arrogance," a source close to the aircraft manufacturer told AFP, which is "dangerous because it shows that the work was not done properly" due to overconfidence.

Others said the company should have moved more quickly to get out in front of the problem.

"Typically in a situation like this, you want to give as much information as you possibly can," especially given how quickly news whips around the globe, Yemma said.

"You want to make your clients, passengers and the public feel at ease about wanting to fly your planes. And the market and investors need to know there is nothing wrong and if there is something wrong that it's going to be fixed."

Michael Priem of communications firm Modern Impact in Minneapolis, agreed Boeing should have moved faster to reassure the general public. 

The public expects "very quick responses and I think Boeing didn't engage in the conversation soon enough," he told AFP.

Two industry sources told AFP on Friday that the company will be rolling out a software upgrade for the MCAS in the next 10 days, which helped boost its share price, but the lag since the October crash in Indonesia is troubling.

And Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger -- noted for his safe landing of a damaged plane on the Hudson River in New York without loss of life -- questioned Boeing's response as well.

"It has been obvious since the Lion Air crash that a redesign of the 737 MAX 8 has been urgently needed ... and the announced proposed fixes do not go far enough," he said on social media.

The issue has drawn the scrutiny of Congress, with key oversight committees planning hearings to look into the aircraft and flaws.

"I continue to have serious concerns about key decisions made in the FAA's certification of the 737 MAX, and what was, and was not, disclosed to pilots," said Representative Peter DeFazio, head of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

"I will be conducting a rigorous investigation to make sure that FAA is carrying out its critical safety mission."

Boeing may have to roll out a public relations campaign to try to restore confidence in its aircraft. 

The company will have to provide a sincere "mea culpa" because "the damage is done," a source close to the aircraft manufacturer told AFP.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

EU suspends Boeing 737 MAX flights, US senators suggest similar move

ADDIS ABABA/PARIS - The European Union's aviation safety regulator on Tuesday suspended all flights in the bloc by Boeing 737 MAX and the US Senator who chairs a panel overseeing aviation suggested the United States take similar action following a crash in Ethiopia that killed 157 people.

Britain, Germany, and France joined a wave of suspensions of the aircraft in the wake of Sunday's crash, and was swiftly followed by a similar decision by India, piling pressure on the United States to follow suit.

Boeing, the world's biggest planemaker, which has seen billions of dollars wiped off its market value after the crash, said it understood the countries' actions but retained "full confidence" in the 737 MAX and had safety as its priority.

It also said the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) had not demanded any further action related to 737 MAX operations.

The cause of the crash, which followed another disaster with a 737 MAX 5 months ago in Indonesia that killed 189 people, remains unknown.

There is no evidence yet whether the 2 crashes are linked. Plane experts say it is too early to speculate on the reason for the crash. Most are caused by a unique chain of human and technical factors.

In an unusual move, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said it was suspending all flights in the bloc of Boeing's 737 MAX 8 and 9 jets.

"Based on all available information, EASA considers that further actions may be necessary to ensure the continued airworthiness of the 2 affected models," it said in a statement.

However, it shied away from the even rarer step of pulling the safety certification for the plane itself, focusing instead on the softer process of restricting its use by airlines. The move leaves some leeway for the US FAA to decide its own approach.

Flight ET 302 came down in a field soon after takeoff from Addis Ababa, creating a fireball in a crater. It may take weeks or months to identify all the victims, who include a prize-winning author, a soccer official, and a team of humanitarian workers.

Boeing shares fell 6.1 percent on Tuesday bringing losses to 11.15 percent since the crash, the steepest 2-day loss for the stock since July 2009. The drop has lopped $26.65 billion off Boeing's market value.

SENATE HEARING

The United States has said it remains safe to fly the planes but US Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican who chairs the Senate subcommittee on aviation and space, said on Tuesday it would be "prudent" for the United States "to temporarily ground 737 Max aircraft until the FAA confirms the safety of these aircraft and their passengers."

Cruz said he intends to convene a hearing to investigate the crashes.

Two other senators, Republican Mitt Romney and Democrat Elizabeth Warren, called on the FAA to temporarily ground the 737 MAX.

President Donald Trump also fretted over modern airplane design.

"Pilots are no longer needed, but rather computer scientists from MIT," Trump tweeted, lamenting that product developers always sought to go an unnecessary step further when "old and simpler" was superior.

"I don't know about you, but I don't want Albert Einstein to be my pilot. I want great flying professionals that are allowed to easily and quickly take control of a plane!" he added.

He did not refer to Boeing or recent accidents, but his comments echoed an automation debate that partially lies at the center of a probe into October's Lion Air crash in Indonesia.

Investigators are examining the role of a software system designed to push the plane down, alongside airline training and repair standards.

Boeing says it plans to update the software in coming weeks.

Trump, concerned about the Ethiopia crash, spoke to Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg on Tuesday and received assurances that the aircraft was safe, 2 people briefed on the call said.

China, Indonesia, Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, and others have also temporarily suspended the 737 MAX.

The decision by some countries to ban not only arrivals and departures but flights crossing through their airspace surprised some regulatory sources even in regions banning the plane, since overflights are usually protected by international law.

VICTIMS FROM 30 NATIONS

Given problems of identification at the charred disaster site, Ethiopian Airlines said it would take at least 5 days to start handing remains to families.

The victims came from more than 30 different nations, and included nearly 2 dozen UN staff.

"We are Muslim and have to bury our deceased immediately," Noordin Mohamed, a 27-year-old Kenyan businessman whose brother and mother died, told Reuters.

"Losing a brother and mother in the same day and not having their bodies to bury is very painful," he said in the Kenyan capital Nairobi where the plane had been due.

Anxiety was also evident among some travelers, who rushed to find out from social media and travel agents whether they were booked to fly on 737 MAX planes.

If the black box recordings found at the Ethiopian crash site are undamaged, the cause of the crash could be identified quickly, although it typically takes a year for a full probe.

The new variant of the 737, the world's most-sold modern passenger aircraft, is viewed as the likely workhorse for global airlines for decades and 4,661 more are on order.

Over 40 percent of the MAX fleet has been grounded, Flightglobal said, though many airlines still use older jets.

Still, major customers including top airlines from North America kept flying the 737 MAX. Southwest Airlines Co, which operates the largest fleet of 737 MAX 8s, said it remained confident in the safety of all its Boeing planes.

Former FAA accident investigator Mike Daniel said the decision by regulators to ground the planes was premature. 

"To me it's almost surreal how quickly some of the regulators are just grounding the aircraft without any factual information yet as a result of the investigation," he told Reuters.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Indonesia temporarily grounds Boeing 737 MAX 8 after Ethiopia crash

Air Transportation Director General Polana Pramesti said in a press statement that the action was taken to guarantee air safety in Indonesia.

"One of the measures will be carrying out an inspection (of all Boeing 737 MAX 8)...to ensure that the planes of that type are airworthy," Pramesti said.

If any problems are found, the jets will be grounded until the problems are settled, she added.

An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane crashed shortly after takeoff on Sunday, killing all 157 people on board, according to the state-run Ethiopian Broadcasting Corp.

Indonesian citizen Harina Hafitz, an employee of the Rome-based World Food Program, was among those killed in the crash, the second fatal incident involving the aircraft type in just five months.

On Oct. 29, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 belonging to Indonesian budget carrier Lion Air crashed into the Java Sea 13 minutes after taking off from Jakarta, killing all 189 people on board. The plane had been put into service only in August.

Pramesti also stressed that she is continuing to cooperate with the country's National Transportation Safety Committee, Boeing Co. and global aviation institutions to keep evaluating any matters related to Lion Air flight JT610.

Indonesia has 11 Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes, with 10 of them being operated by Lion Air and one by national carrier Garuda Indonesia.

A preliminary investigative report of the Lion Air crash released by the safety committee showed that shortly after takeoff, the plane's anti-stall mechanism was activated, apparently by incorrect sensor readings, forcing its nose down.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Ethiopian Airlines flight to Nairobi crashes, killing 157

NAIROBI -- An Ethiopian Airlines passenger jet bound for Nairobi crashed minutes after take-off on Sunday, killing all 157 people on board and raising questions about the safety of the Boeing 737 MAX 8, a new model that also crashed in Indonesia in October.

Sunday's flight left Bole airport in Addis Ababa at 8:38 a.m., before losing contact with the control tower just a few minutes later at 8:44 a.m.

"There are no survivors," the airline tweeted alongside a picture of CEO Tewolde GebreMariam holding up a piece of debris inside a large crater at the crash site.

Passengers from 33 countries were aboard, said Tewolde in a news conference. The dead included Kenyan, Ethiopian, American, Canadian, French, Chinese, Egyptian, Swedish, British, Dutch, Indian, Slovakian, Austrian, Swedish, Russian, Moroccan, Spanish, Polish, and Israeli citizens.

Weeping relatives begged for information at airports in Nairobi and Addis Ababa.

"We're just waiting for my mum. We're just hoping she took a different flight or was delayed. She's not picking up her phone," said Wendy Otieno, clutching her phone and weeping.

The aircraft, a 737 MAX 8, is the same model that crashed into the Java Sea shortly after take-off from Jakarta on Oct. 29, killing all 189 people on board the Lion Air flight.

The cause of that crash is still under investigation.

Ethiopian's new aircraft had no recorded technical problems and the pilot had an "excellent" flying record, Tewolde said in a news conference.

“We received the airplane on November 15, 2018. It has flown more than 1,200 hours. It had flown from Johannesburg earlier this morning," he said. “The pilot mentioned that he had difficulties and that he wanted to return."

'UNSTABLE SPEED'

Flight ET 302, registration number ET-AVJ, crashed near the town of Bishoftu, 62 km southeast of the capital Addis Ababa, with 149 passengers and eight crew aboard, the airline said.

The flight had unstable vertical speed after take off, the flight tracking website Flightradar24 tweeted.

The aircraft had shattered into many pieces and was severely burnt, a Reuters reporter at the scene of the crash said. Clothing and personal effects were scattered widely over the field where the plane came down.

It was not clear what had caused the crash. Boeing sent condolences to the families and said it was ready to help investigate.

This is the second recent crash of the latest version of Boeing’s workhorse narrowbody jet that first entered service in 2017. The 737 is the world’s best selling modern passenger aircraft and one of the industry’s most reliable.

A preliminary report into the October Lion Air crash, focused on airline maintenance and training and the response of a Boeing anti-stall system to a recently replaced sensor, but did not give a reason for the crash. Since then, the cockpit voice recorder was recovered and a final report is due later this year.

ANGUISHED RELATIVES

At Nairobi airport, many relatives were left waiting at the gate for hours, with no information from airport authorities. Some learned of the crash from journalists.

Robert Mutanda, 46, was waiting for his brother-in-law, a Canadian citizen.

"No, we haven't seen anyone from the airline or the airport," he told Reuters at 1 p.m., more than three hours after the flight was lost. "Nobody has told us anything, we are just standing here hoping for the best."

Kenyan officials did not arrive at the airport until 1:30 p.m., five hours after the plane went down.

James Macharia, the cabinet secretary for transport, said he heard about the crash via Twitter.

Families were taken to Nairobi's Sheraton hotel, but said they were still waiting to hear from airline staff eight hours after the accident.

ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES

Under international rules, responsibility for leading the crash investigation lies with Ethiopia but the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will also participate because the plane was designed and built in the United States.

Representatives of Boeing and Cincinnati-based engine-maker CFM, a joint venture between General Electric and General Electric Co and France’s Safran SA will advise the NTSB.

Ethiopian is one of the biggest carriers on the continent by fleet size. The plane was among six of 30 Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets the rapidly expanding carrier has ordered.

The fleet will continue flying since the cause of the crash is not clear, the CEO said.

Its last major crash was in January 2010, when a flight from Beirut went down shortly after take-off, killing all 90 people onboard. The Lebanese blamed pilot error, which was disputed by the airline.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Boeing jet crash-lands at Guyana airport, 10 injured

GEORGETOWN, Guyana - Ten people were injured in scenes described as "chaos" as a Boeing airliner carrying 126 people, most of them Canadians, crash-landed in Guyana's capital Georgetown on Friday, skidding to a halt just before a steep drop.

The Fly Jamaica Airways plane was bound for Toronto when it suffered a hydraulic problem shortly after takeoff and returned to the airport, crashing and careening off the runway, Transportation Minister David Patterson said.

"Everyone was going crazy, screaming, crying for their lives, everything," said passenger Invor Bedessee, describing how some people were injured getting off the flight.

"There were (some people) injured because of coming down the slide or not getting off the flight fast enough, so the people behind them were kicking them," he told Canada's public broadcaster CBC.

"There was a lot of chaos."

Bedessee said takeoff had been delayed by about 45 minutes because one of the left-side doors had "not closed properly" and a maintenance crew was called to fix the problem.

Patterson said the injuries were not life-threatening and the injured were taken to a hospital near the airport on the South America country's Atlantic coast.

SPINAL INJURIES

Guyana's Chief Medical Officer, Shamdeo Persaud, said 5 of the injured had been referred to another hospital for "further investigation" for spinal injuries.

The 118 passengers on board the Boeing 757-200 included 82 Canadians. There were 8 crew members.

"To date, we have no reports of any Canadian citizens being injured," said government spokesman Philip Hannan in Ottawa. 

"Canadian consular officials are in contact with local authorities and stand ready to provide consular assistance to Canadian citizens if needed."

After departing at 2:10 am (0610 GMT), the pilot reported a problem with the hydraulic system 10 minutes into the flight.

"We flew about 10, 15 minutes in the air, just over the Atlantic ocean, and we were circling around a few times and the captain announced there's some hydraulic problems, and we had to return to the airport," Bedessee told CBC.

"When we landed on the ground, the wheels were still spinning, they were not braking, there was no hydraulic brakes to brake the wheels and then we overshot the runway," the still-shaken passenger said.

Pictures showed the plane had ground to a halt in the sand just short of a steep incline.

"One of the wings came apart and the engine on the right side actually flipped over and we crashed into a big sand pile at the edge of a cliff. There's a big drop about 30, 40 feet (nine to 12 meters) on the other side," said Bedessee.

"If we had 10 more feet, we would be down in the cliff, down in the ditch. It was a miracle."

A resident told AFP that she heard a loud explosion and when she went outdoors, she saw smoke. 

"I saw bright lights and smoke, heard sirens, people screaming. I saw the plane turn off in an angle but before that I heard a loud explosion," Melana Perreira said.

'A LOT OF CHAOS'

Bedessee said the incident had left him "very shaken and very, I don't know, nervous." 

"It's like all of my goose bumps are going crazy, just it's a shock and awe, more or less," he said. 

Director-General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority, Egbert Field, said the pilots of the aircraft had not yet been interviewed but the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder had been removed from the wrecked plane and sent to the United States for analysis.

"They have been retrieved and will be sent to the National Transportation Safety Board for decoding," Field said.

Guyanese police and soldiers secured the crash site for investigators to begin working. 

"We can confirm that Fly Jamaica flight OJ256 bound for Toronto has returned to Georgetown with a technical problem and has suffered an accident on landing," the airline said.

"At this time, we believe that all 118 passengers and eight crew members are safe. We are providing local assistance and will release further information as soon as it is available," it added.

source: news.abs-cbn.com