China crash: Boeing in trouble again after earlier 737 MAX controversy?

Aeroplane manufacturer Boeing may be looking at another global grounding of its planes after a Boeing 737-800 crashed in China on March 21.

Already, China Eastern, the airlines that was operating the ill-fated flight has ground all of its Boeing 737-800 planes.

The Indian civil aviation regulator has put all Boeing 737 fleets of Indian carriers on ‘enhance surveillance’.

In China, Boeing was just coming out of one of the longest groundings in aviation history following two fatal crashes.

In October 2018, a Boeing 737 Max operated by Lion Air crashed minutes after take-off from Jakarta killing all 189 people on board.

In March 2019, a Boeing 737 Max flown by Ethiopian Airlines crashed shortly after take-off from Addis Ababa. All 157 people on board were killed.

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Aviation regulators around the world then banned the Max model following reports that an automated flight-control system known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS, could malfunction, sending the plane into a dive.

The 737 Max aircraft were brought back into action after several tests and changes late in 2020.

Though the model involved in March 21 crash was a 737-800 and not a Max, it could set back Boeing’s recovery plans.

The aeroplane manufacturer was looking to restart 737 Max deliveries to China, one its biggest customers before the groundings. According to Bloomberg, China bought almost one-third of planes that were manufactured out of Boeing’s Seattle area factory.

Also Watch| After China plane crash, India issues alert; airlines' Boeing 737s under 'enhanced surveillance'