A new-model airliner crashes, killing all 189 people aboard. Less than five months later, another airliner of the same new model crashes, killing all 157 aboard. Both seem to have occurred under similar circumstances. The world was understandably terrified, and until Wednesday, the United States Federal Aviation Administration stood alone as the only major aviation safety agency that had not ordered the grounding of this airline model, Boeing’s 737 Max 8.

President Trump’s executive order on Wednesday afternoon to ground all Boeing 737 Max 8s was a necessary step. But it is a step that should have been taken directly by the federal agency responsible for aviation safety. That is came from the White House instead speaks to a profound crisis of public confidence in the F.A.A.

The roots of this crisis can be found in a major change the agency instituted in its regulatory responsibility in 2005. Rather than naming and supervising its own “designated airworthiness representatives,” the agency decided to allow Boeing and other manufacturers who qualified under the revised procedures to select their own employees to certify the safety of their aircraft. In justifying this change, the agency said at the time that it would save the aviation industry about $25 billion from 2006 to 2015. Therefore, the manufacturer is providing safety oversight of itself. This is a worrying move toward industry self-certification.</s>How is the Boeing 737 Max 8 different from other 737s?</s>RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia does not have Boeing 737 MAX planes in its own aircraft registry, a spokesman for the kingdom’s civil aviation authority said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The skies of the kingdom are clear of this type of planes,” he said.</s>The Trump administration's decision to ground a type of Boeing jet involved in two crashes could affect people flying in and out of Detroit Metro Airport.

Several airlines that fly the Boeing 737 Max 8, including United, American and Southwest, also service Detroit Metro. Delta Air Lines, Detroit's main carrier, does not fly the jet. The grounding affects both the Max 8 and Max 9.

The Free Press reached out to numerous airlines that use the grounded jet and service Detroit Metro to check on the local impact. Most referenced general company statements.

Southwest's website said that its 34 now-grounded Max 8 planes account for less than 5 percent of its daily flights.

"Our goal is to operate our schedule with every available aircraft in our fleet to meet our customers' expectations during the busy spring travel season," the company website said. It noted that "any customer booked on a canceled Max 8 flight can rebook on alternate flights without any additional fees or fare differences within 14 days of their original date of travel between the original city pairs. A travel advisory with additional information for customers will be posted on Southwest.com."

The company said in its statement that it remains confident in the jet, but also said it is abiding by the government's decision.

More: Detroit Metro Airport saw more than 35 million passengers in 2018

More: Nonstop flights from Detroit to Hawaii to begin in 2019

United also said it is working to minimize the impact on its customers.

"Our Max aircraft account for roughly 40 flights a day, and through a combination of spare aircraft and rebooking customers, we do not anticipate a significant operational impact as a result of this order. We will continue to work with our customers to help minimize any disruption to their travel," United spokesman Jonathan Guerin said, noting that the airline has 14 737 Max aircraft.

American said it has 24 planes affected by the grounding.

“Our team will work with all customers impacted by these flight cancellations in order to rebook them to their final destination. Affected customers may rebook themselves on aa.com by retrieving their reservation or using our mobile app. If a flight is canceled, customers may request a full refund by visiting our website. Customers who booked through a travel agent are requested to contact their agency directly,” according to the American Airlines statement.

Aeromexico posted a statement saying it is temporarily suspending operation of its six Boeing 737 Max 8 jets.

In an email to the Free Press, spokesman Emilio Diaz said "Aeromexico does not operate the 737 MAX 8 fleet to DTW, it consists of Embraer 190 and a mix of Boeing 737-800 or 700."

The air traffic tracking site FlightAware.com on Wednesday afternoon listed 68 delays and 33 cancellations for all flights at Detroit Metro. Flightstats.com showed the delay status Wednesday afternoon at Detroit Metro, which is known by the abbreviation DTW, as low and increasing.

The grounding order Wednesday followed a string of similar decisions by countries across the globe in response to a deadly Ethiopian Airlines crash this weekend and a Lion Air crash off the coast of Indonesia in October.</s>WASHINGTON — The U.S. is issuing an emergency order Wednesday grounding all Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 aircraft "effective immediately" in the wake of the crash of an Ethiopian Airliner that killed 157 people, President Donald Trump said.

Many nations had already barred the Boeing 737 Max 8 from its airspace, but until Trump's announcement, the Federal Aviation Administration had said that it didn't have any data to show the jets are unsafe. Trump cited "new information" that had come to light in the ongoing investigation into the incident. He did not elaborate.

"All of those planes are grounded, effective immediately," Trump said during a scheduled briefing on border security.

Trump said any airplane currently in the air will go to its destination and then be grounded. He added that all airlines and affected pilots had been notified.

Trump said the safety of the American people is of "paramount concern," and added that the FAA would soon put out a statement on the action.

The president said the decision to ground the aircraft "didn't have to be made, but we thought it was the right decision."

He insisted the announcement was coordinated with aviation officials in Canada, U.S. carriers and aircraft manufacturer Boeing.

"Boeing is an incredible company," Trump said. "They are working very, very hard right now, and, hopefully, they'll quickly come up with an answer."

— Associated Press writers Deb Riechmann and Kevin Freking contributed to this report.</s>BUENOS AIRES, March 12 — Argentina’s flagship carrier has joined airlines that have grounded their Boeing 737 Max 8 planes after the crash in Ethiopia.

Aerolineas Argentinas said late yesterday it had ordered the suspension as it awaited the result of investigations into the crash of the Ethiopian Airlines plane, which killed all 157 aboard.

“For Aerolineas Argentinas, safety is the most important value,” the company said in a statement on the grounding of its five 737 Max 8 planes, out of a total fleet of 82. — AFP</s>President Donald Trump said he was issuing an executive order to halt flights of the Boeing 737 MAX, in a reversal of the stance of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, which has insisted that it is still safe to fly following two deadly crashes of models of the plane in the past five months.

"We're gonna be issuing an emergency order of prohibition to ground all flights of the 737 MAX 8 and the 737 MAX 9 and planes associated with that line," Trump told reporters in Washington on Wednesday, according to press reports.

A wave of countries have closed their airspace to Boeing's bestselling jet over the past three days following the crash Sunday of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX 8 shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa that killed all 157 on board.

The groundings by the regulators have represented a dramatic break in ranks with their counterparts at the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, which has issued several statements of confidence in the 737 MAX 8 and the larger MAX 9. “This investigation has just begun and to date we have not been provided data to draw any conclusions or take any actions,” the FAA said in an airworthiness notification to airlines Monday. Customarily countries defer to the judgment of aviation regulators in the nation that certified an aircraft that's the subject of safety concerns, in this case the FAA.

The pilots unions for the largest airline in the world, American, as well as United Airlines and Southwest have stated their confidence in the safety of the plane as well.

"When the rest of the world takes the position that the aircraft are safety-problematic, particularly based on emotion and without much hard data, maybe it’s time for the U.S. to stop the speculation and get to a final determination," says Mike Boyd, a Denver-based airline consultant.

Boeing said in a statement that it continues to have full confidence in the safety of the 737 MAX but that it had decided to recommend the FAA temporarily suspend operations of the plane "out of an abundance of caution and in order to reassure the flying public of the aircraft’s safety."</s>Canada is grounding all of its Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft and banning the jet from entering its airspace until further notice as safety concerns continue to mount following two deadly crashes.

"This safety notice restricts commercial passenger flights from any air operator, both domestic and foreign, of the Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 aircraft from arriving, departing, or overflying Canadian airspace," Transport Minister Marc Garneau told reporters earlier today. (The Max 9 has an extended fuselage, but uses the same systems as the Max 8s).

Canada had been one of the last holdouts on temporarily banning the Max 8s in the wake of the recent Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed all 157 people on board, including 18 Canadians. The U.K., the European Union, Australia and other countries had moved already to ban the jet from their airspace in response to growing safety concerns.

Garneau said the decision to issue the safety notice was made after his department received new data suggesting a similarity between the Ethiopian Airlines crash and another deadly crash near Indonesia in October.

The minister said much of the new information is new and unproven, but added:

"There are — and I hasten to say not conclusive — but there are similarities that sort of exceed a certain threshold in our minds with respect to the possible cause of what happened in Ethiopia"

"My departmental officials continue to monitor the situation and I will not hesitate to take swift action should we discover any additional safety issues," he said.

U.S. follows suit

U.S. President Donald Trump issued an "emergency order" grounding all Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 a few hours after Canada's decision.

Garneau said Canada alerted the U.S. to the safety notice on Wednesday morning.

According to Reuters, the Federal Aviation Administration held urgent meetings on the issue after Canada announced it would become the latest major country to ground the jets.

According to a source with direct knowledge of the matter, Garneau directly contacted his counterpart, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao. The source said the Americans understood Garneau's decision and did not try to persuade Ottawa to change its mind.

"It was always a possibility, but the fact that they announced it just after us came as a bit of a surprise," said Garneau.

Transport Minister Marc Garneau discusses the decision to ground Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 aircraft, after Canada had been one of the last holdouts. 9:09

Air Canada, which already had cancelled multiple scheduled flights to and from London in response to the U.K. closing its airspace yesterday, said it's working to rebook passengers.

"Air Canada's cancellation and rebooking policies are in place with full fee waiver for affected customers," said a spokesperson.

"We are working to rebook impacted customers as soon as possible, but given the magnitude of our 737 MAX operations, which on average carry nine to twelve thousand customers per day, customers can expect delays in rebooking and in reaching Air Canada call centres."

WestJet also said it will begin complying with Transport Canada's direction.

"We respect the decision made by Transport Canada and are in the process of grounding the 13 MAX aircraft in our fleet," said the company in an email.

"This decision has an impact on the travel plans of our WestJet guests and we ask for understanding as we work to rebook all guests affected as quickly as possible."

An Air Canada Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft is towed in on Wednesday behind another Air Canada Boeing 737 MAX 8 at Toronto's Pearson International Airport. (Chris Helgren/Reuters)

Toronto-based Sunwing Airlines announced late Tuesday it would voluntarily ground its four Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft for "evolving commercial reasons," such as airspace restrictions imposed by some destinations.

The union representing Air Canada's 8,500 flight attendants welcomed the decision.

"In light of the new data received by the federal government, we welcome the Minister's decision to err on the side of prudence until the analysis of the causes of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash is completed," said CUPE spokesperson Wesley Lesosky.

Transport Minister Marc Garneau illustrates the similarities between the Lion Air flight crash from October 2018 to this past weekend's Ethiopian Airlines plane crash out of Addis Ababa. 1:23

Earlier this week, Garneau said it would be "premature" to ground all 41 of the 737 Max 8s currently owned by Canadian air carriers.

However, shortly after the U.K. announced yesterday it is temporarily banning the jets from its airspace, Garneau tweeted that he was cancelling previous plans and meeting with his civil aviation expert panel to discuss the Max 8 aircraft.

Both the Conservatives and the NDP had been calling on the government to ground the planes as a precaution.

Brian Masse, the NDP innovation, science and economic development critic, criticized the speed of Garneau's decision Wednesday, saying "it should have been made sooner" given how other countries took action well before the midday Wednesday announcement.

Masse is asking Garneau to enact a "contingency plan" to ensure passengers who find their travel plans disrupted by the grounding of these aircraft are not "gouged" by airlines during the rebooking process.

"Canadian airlines have the privilege of providing air transport to millions of Canadians and this entails comprehensive responsibilities to ensure their passengers are safe and treated fairly in the market," he wrote in a letter. "Consumers should not be further victimized by predatory practices or pricing during this time."

Pilot reported problems: airline

Sunday's disaster follows another fatal crash of the 737 Max 8 jet in Indonesia five months ago, which killed 189 people and raised concerns about the fleet's automated flight systems.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre both agree that the government should ground the Boeing 737 Max 8 jets until they can be proven to be safe. 0:55

Asrat Begashaw, a spokesperson for Ethiopian Airlines, said that before the crash, the pilot reported flight-control problems and asked to return to Addis Ababa, where the flight to Nairobi originated.

The 'black box' flight recorders from the crash site will be sent to Europe for analysis, he said.</s>WASHINGTON, March 13 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the United States was going to order the grounding of all Boeing Co 737 MAX 8 and MAX 9 aircraft after a crash in Ethiopia that killed 157 people.

"We are going to be issuing an emergency order of prohibition to ground all flights of the 737 MAX 8 and the 737 MAX 9 and planes associated with that line," Trump told reporters at the White House. (Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Tim Ahmann; Editing by Tim Ahmann)</s>Trump: US issuing 'emergency order' grounding all Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 aircraft following Ethiopia crash

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump: US issuing 'emergency order' grounding all Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 aircraft following Ethiopia crash .
Canada and the United States ground all Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 aircraft and ban the jet from their airspace until further notice. It is now effectively grounded worldwide, with no operators remaining unaffected by grounding orders.