Indonesia officially seeks FAA's further advice on Boeing 737 MAX-8

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia officially sought further advice from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on thorough inspections of Boeing 737 MAX 8s following an Ethiopian Airlines plane crash on March 10, 2019, killing all 157 on board.


"We had sent a letter on March 12, seeking the FAA's advice because Indonesia is one of the countries having many Boeing 737 MAX-8s," the Transportation Ministry's Air Transportation Director General Polana B. Pramesti stated in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The FAA's immediate reply was increasingly important for Indonesia, and it will serve as a reference for conducting checks of the Boeing 737 MAX 8s since a similar aircraft operated by Indonesia's Lion Air had also crashed in October 2018, she pointed out.

A day after a Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane of Ethiopian Airlines crashed six minutes after takeoff during its flight from Addis Ababa to Nairobi on Sunday (Mar 10), the Indonesian Transportation Ministry had temporarily grounded all Boeing 737 MAX 8s in the country.

Pramesti noted that as the operating mode of the US Transportation Department, the FAA's reply to Indonesia's letter will be highly valuable in order to ensure continued maintenance of passenger safety and security.

In connection with the Boeing 737 MAX 8 crash in Ethiopia, Acting FAA Administrator Daniel K. Elwell revealed in his press statement that the FAA had maintained the airworthiness of the aircraft.

"The FAA continues to review extensively all available data and aggregate safety performance from operators and pilots of the Boeing 737 MAX. Thus far, our review shows no systemic performance issues and provides no basis to order the grounding of the aircraft," Elwell noted.

"Moreover, neither have other civil aviation authorities provided data to us that would warrant action," Elwell added.

Meanwhile, on the day the crash occurred, Boeing revealed in its press statement that its technical team will be travelling to the crash site to provide technical assistance under the direction of the Ethiopia Accident Investigation Bureau and US National Transportation Safety Board.

"Safety is Boeing's number one priority, and we have full confidence in the safety of the 737 MAX. We understand that regulatory agencies and customers have made decisions that they believe are most appropriate for their home markets," the company revealed.

Reporting by Ahmad Wijaya, Rahmad Nasution  

Editor: Gusti Nur Cahya Aryani