Originally Posted by
EWR764
I say this without knowing what data has been shared with the various agencies, and I want to make crystal-clear I do not oppose grounding fleets, but only if there's specific information that independently supports the action. I am categorically against calling for groundings simply because something bad happened. It sets bad precedent and undermines confidence in aviation safety.
I maintain that if the grounding rests on data independent of the ET crash, then emergency action should have been taken on the MAX months ago, not in response to a public outcry. If there's information from the ET analysis that ties it to the Lion Air crash, then Boeing has a problem and the grounding is justifiable.
I would argue that not grounding these aircraft sooner undermines confidence in the safety culture of the FAA as well as the airlines who expressed confidence in the aircraft while they were being grounded across the rest of the world.
While there may not be any direct link between these two accidents at this time, there are plenty of similarities and variables that make this disturbing. Both accidents occurred in very similar phases of flight where weather was unlikely to be a factor. These were the same type of aircraft, operated by different airlines in different countries. Both airframes were only a few months old at the time of their respective accidents, limiting the possibility that either accident was caused by age related stresses/maintenance issues with the aircraft. The profiles of each crash show a similar catastrophic high-speed impact with terrain with little warning resulting in the aircraft being pulverized and next to no ability to survive the accident. There is no safety-related reason to keep these aircraft flying and to continue to expose people to the potential risk of a third accident. At some point down the road we may very well find out that these were completely unrelated accidents, however what safety benefits are there to continue operating the aircraft until that is discovered?
If this were a case of one aircraft crashing short of the runway in a major thunderstorm and the other being flown into the side of a mountain in blinding fog that would be one thing, however the similarities between the two crashes cannot be ignored.