WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The U.S. is issuing an emergency order Wednesday grounding all Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 aircraft \u201ceffective immediately,\u201d in the wake of the crash of an Ethiopian Airliner that killed 157 people, President Donald Trump said.<\/p>\n
Many nations had already barred the Boeing 737 Max 8 from its airspace, but until Trump\u2019s announcement, the Federal Aviation Administration had said that it didn\u2019t have any data to show the jets are unsafe. Trump cited \u201cnew information\u201d that had come to light in the ongoing investigation into the incident. He did not elaborate.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of those planes are grounded, effective immediately,\u201d Trump said during a scheduled briefing on border security.<\/p>\n
Trump said any airplane currently in the air will go to its destination and then be grounded. He added all airlines and affected pilots had been notified.<\/p>\n
Trump said the safety of the American people is of \u201cparamount concern,\u201d and added that the FAA would soon put out a statement on the action.<\/p>\n
Trump said the decision to ground the aircraft \u201cdidn\u2019t have to be made, but we thought it was the right decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
The president insisted the announcement was coordinated with aviation officials in Canada, U.S. carriers and aircraft manufacturer Boeing.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoeing is an incredible company,\u201d Trump said. \u201cThey are working very, very hard right now and hopefully they\u2019ll quickly come up with an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a statement, Boeing said it \u201ccontinues to have full confidence in the safety of the 737 MAX.\u201d The company added that it had decided \u201cout of an abundance of caution and in order to reassure the flying public of the aircraft\u2019s safety \u2014 to recommend to the FAA the temporary suspension of operations of the entire global fleet of 371 737 MAX aircraft.\u201d<\/p>\n
Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said the company was \u201csupporting this proactive step out of an abundance of caution.\u201d<\/p>\n