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FAA faces stunning rebuff as world races ahead to ground 737 Max

<p class="intro upper-first" style="padding:0px 0px 1.5em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:1.2em;color:#111111;font-family:Georgia, serif;letter-spacing:-0.2px;white-space:normal;word-spacing:-0.5px;background-color:#FFFFFF;"> <img src="http://www.bearing.com.cn/membcentre/editor/attached/image/20190313/20190313182642_95671.jpg" alt="" /> <p class="intro upper-first" style="padding:0px 0px 1.5em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:1.2em;color:#111111;font-family:Georgia, serif;letter-spacing:-0.2px;white-space:normal;word-spacing:-0.5px;background-color:#FFFFFF;"> Since shortly after the dawn of the jet age, the world has followed the US’s lead on <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/aviation" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #03B8DE;">aviation</a> <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/safety" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #03B8DE;">safety</a>. <p style="padding:0px 0px 1.5em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;color:#111111;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:20.8px;letter-spacing:-0.2px;white-space:normal;word-spacing:-0.5px;background-color:#FFFFFF;"> Now, in a remarkable rebuke, nations from the UK to <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/australia" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Australia</a> have rejected public reassurances from the <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/federal-aviation-administration" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Federal Aviation Administration</a> and grounded Boeing’s 737 Max jet. They’ve not only told their carriers not to fly the jets, they have in some cases prohibited the plane from flying through their airspace. <p style="padding:0px 0px 1.5em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;color:#111111;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:20.8px;letter-spacing:-0.2px;white-space:normal;word-spacing:-0.5px;background-color:#FFFFFF;"> <p style="padding:0px 0px 1.5em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;color:#111111;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:20.8px;letter-spacing:-0.2px;white-space:normal;word-spacing:-0.5px;background-color:#FFFFFF;"> “I’m watching this unfold with an element of astonishment and bemusement,” said <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/sandy-morris" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Sandy Morris</a>, an <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/aerospace" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">aerospace</a>analyst at Jefferies International in <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/london" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">London</a>. “What we’re looking at here is almost a rebellion against the FAA. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen this happen.” <p style="padding:0px 0px 1.5em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;color:#111111;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:20.8px;letter-spacing:-0.2px;white-space:normal;word-spacing:-0.5px;background-color:#FFFFFF;"> Within hours of the FAA issuing a global notice of “continued airworthiness” on Monday, nation after nation declared a halt to flights of the plane. They include <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/singapore" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Singapore</a>, <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/australia" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Australia</a>, <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/malaysia" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Malaysia</a>, the UK, <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/france" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">France</a>, <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/turkey" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Turkey</a>, <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/germany" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Germany</a>, <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/italy" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Italy</a>, <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/ireland" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Ireland</a>and the <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/netherlands" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Netherlands</a>. The European Union <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/aviation" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #03B8DE;">Aviation</a>Regulator announced its own suspension of flights later Tuesday. <p style="padding:0px 0px 1.5em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;color:#111111;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:20.8px;letter-spacing:-0.2px;white-space:normal;word-spacing:-0.5px;background-color:#FFFFFF;"> “<a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/safety" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #03B8DE;">Safety</a> has absolute priority,” German <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/transport" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #03B8DE;">Transport</a> Minister <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/andreas-scheuer" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Andreas Scheuer</a> told NTV in an interview on Tuesday. “Until all doubts have been dispelled, I have ordered that the German airspace is closed for <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/the-boeing" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">the Boeing</a> 737 Max as of now.” <p style="padding:0px 0px 1.5em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;color:#111111;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:20.8px;letter-spacing:-0.2px;white-space:normal;word-spacing:-0.5px;background-color:#FFFFFF;"> The moves undercut decades of attempts to improve cooperation between <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/europe" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Europe</a>, the US and other nations that certify new passenger-carrying planes and could come back to haunt manufacturers like <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/airbus" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Airbus</a> SE if one of its <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/aircraft" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #03B8DE;">aircraft</a>faces questions in the future, said <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/randy-babbitt" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Randy Babbitt</a>, who served as head of the US <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/federal-aviation-administration" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Federal Aviation Administration</a>. <p style="padding:0px 0px 1.5em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;color:#111111;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:20.8px;letter-spacing:-0.2px;white-space:normal;word-spacing:-0.5px;background-color:#FFFFFF;"> “It is highly unusual,” said Babbitt. “It sets a very bad precedent. It’s premature to just ground the airplane based on speculation.” <p style="padding:0px 0px 1.5em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;color:#111111;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:20.8px;letter-spacing:-0.2px;white-space:normal;word-spacing:-0.5px;background-color:#FFFFFF;"> The nations moved against Boeing’s latest model, an upgrade of the venerable 737 known as the Max family, following the second fatal crash of the plane in less than five months. <p style="padding:0px 0px 1.5em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;color:#111111;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:20.8px;letter-spacing:-0.2px;white-space:normal;word-spacing:-0.5px;background-color:#FFFFFF;"> While the first 737 Max 8 accident last October near <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/indonesia" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Indonesia</a> raised questions about a <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/safety" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #03B8DE;">safety</a> feature on the plane – as well as identifying serious <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/maintenance" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #03B8DE;">maintenance</a> and pilot failures – there has been no clear indication of what brought down an <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/ethiopian-airlines" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Ethiopian Airlines</a> Max on Sunday. <p style="padding:0px 0px 1.5em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;color:#111111;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:20.8px;letter-spacing:-0.2px;white-space:normal;word-spacing:-0.5px;background-color:#FFFFFF;"> To Babbitt, the lack of a specific <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/safety" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #03B8DE;">safety</a> flaw leading to the grounding is one of the most confounding aspects of the global response. <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/china" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">China</a>, one of the first nation’s to act, said it was acting specifically because no cause for the latest accident has been identified. <p style="padding:0px 0px 1.5em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;color:#111111;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:20.8px;letter-spacing:-0.2px;white-space:normal;word-spacing:-0.5px;background-color:#FFFFFF;"> “We are in touch with Boeing and the FAA and sent people to investigate and follow up with the progress of the probe,” <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/li-jian" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Li Jian</a>, deputy director of Civil <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/aviation" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #03B8DE;">Aviation</a> Administration of <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/china" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">China</a> told reporters on Monday. <p style="padding:0px 0px 1.5em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;color:#111111;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:20.8px;letter-spacing:-0.2px;white-space:normal;word-spacing:-0.5px;background-color:#FFFFFF;"> “The Max plane has changes in <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/design" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #03B8DE;">design</a> from that of previous generation and looks like it has brought uncertainties in risks.” Li said. “Through our analysis of the two accidents we believe there are some commonality in the two and cause of the incidents might be due to <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/design" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #03B8DE;">design</a> defaults.” <p style="padding:0px 0px 1.5em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;color:#111111;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:20.8px;letter-spacing:-0.2px;white-space:normal;word-spacing:-0.5px;background-color:#FFFFFF;"> The FAA certified the Max in 2017. As a result of the <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/lion-air" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Lion Air</a>crash on Oct. 29, the FAA said Monday it will order Boeing to redesign <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/safety" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #03B8DE;">safety</a> software on the plane that repeatedly pushed down the nose as a result of a malfunction to make it less likely to lead to an accident in the future. <p style="padding:0px 0px 1.5em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;color:#111111;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:20.8px;letter-spacing:-0.2px;white-space:normal;word-spacing:-0.5px;background-color:#FFFFFF;"> Boeing on Tuesday reiterated that it has “full confidence” in the <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/safety" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #03B8DE;">safety</a> of the 737 Max. Since the FAA isn’t mandating any new action, “based on the information currently available, we do not have any basis to issue new guidance to operators.” <p style="padding:0px 0px 1.5em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;color:#111111;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:20.8px;letter-spacing:-0.2px;white-space:normal;word-spacing:-0.5px;background-color:#FFFFFF;"> “We understand that regulatory agencies and customers have made decisions that they believe are most appropriate for their home markets,” Boeing said in a statement. “We’ll continue to engage with all of them to ensure they have all the information they need to have the confidence they need to safely continue to operate their fleets or return them to <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/service" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #03B8DE;">service</a>.” <p style="padding:0px 0px 1.5em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;color:#111111;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:20.8px;letter-spacing:-0.2px;white-space:normal;word-spacing:-0.5px;background-color:#FFFFFF;"> The FAA has stood by earlier statements that it is closely monitoring the situation in <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/ethiopia" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Ethiopia</a> and the Max in general. “The FAA continuously assesses and oversees the <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/safety" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #03B8DE;">safety</a>performance of US commercial <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/aircraft" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #03B8DE;">aircraft</a>,” it said in a statement. “If we identify an issue that affects <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/safety" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #03B8DE;">safety</a>, the FAA will take immediate and appropriate action.” <p style="padding:0px 0px 1.5em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;color:#111111;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:20.8px;letter-spacing:-0.2px;white-space:normal;word-spacing:-0.5px;background-color:#FFFFFF;"> <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/aircraft" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #03B8DE;">AIRCRAFT</a> CERTIFICATION Under international law, the country where an <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/aircraft" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #03B8DE;">aircraft</a> is made takes the lead in certifying it is safe to fly. Thus, the FAA is first to certify Boeing <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/products" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #03B8DE;">products</a> while <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/europe" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Europe</a>’s EASA is the primary agency overseeing <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/airbus" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Airbus</a>. <p style="padding:0px 0px 1.5em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;color:#111111;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:20.8px;letter-spacing:-0.2px;white-space:normal;word-spacing:-0.5px;background-color:#FFFFFF;"> After initial approvals, other nations will also sign off on new <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/aircraft" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #03B8DE;">aircraft</a>. That allows a US carrier to fly a European-made <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/airbus" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Airbus</a>, for example. <p style="padding:0px 0px 1.5em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;color:#111111;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:20.8px;letter-spacing:-0.2px;white-space:normal;word-spacing:-0.5px;background-color:#FFFFFF;"> “Yes it is true that Britain, <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/australia" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Australia</a> and <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/singapore" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Singapore</a> are closer to peers than <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/china" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">China</a> and <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/indonesia" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Indonesia</a>, but the FAA should be left alone to do their job,” US-based <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/aviation" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #03B8DE;">aviation</a> consultant <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/richard-aboulafia" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Richard Aboulafia</a> said, noting that the narrative could swing again once details are known of the latest 737 crash. <p style="padding:0px 0px 1.5em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;color:#111111;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:20.8px;letter-spacing:-0.2px;white-space:normal;word-spacing:-0.5px;background-color:#FFFFFF;"> In recent years, the US, <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/europe" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Europe</a>, <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/brazil" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Brazil</a> and <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/canada" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Canada</a> – home to the largest jet manufacturers – have taken steps to work more closely on certification. While there are occasional differences between the FAA and other nations, they have tended to be minor. <p style="padding:0px 0px 1.5em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;color:#111111;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:20.8px;letter-spacing:-0.2px;white-space:normal;word-spacing:-0.5px;background-color:#FFFFFF;"> <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/jens-thordarson" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Jens Thordarson</a>, chief operating officer at Icelandair Group HF, gave voice to the <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/pressures-airlines" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">pressures airlines</a> and governments are facing. <p style="padding:0px 0px 1.5em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;color:#111111;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:20.8px;letter-spacing:-0.2px;white-space:normal;word-spacing:-0.5px;background-color:#FFFFFF;"> “We have not gotten any information on why Britain took these measures and then others after them,” Thordarson said in a statement. “We decided however to follow their example since we compare ourselves to these airlines and also because it of course reduces the utility of these planes not to be able to fly them over Britain. Our independent evaluation of the planes is still the same as yesterday that they are safe.” <p style="padding:0px 0px 1.5em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;color:#111111;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:20.8px;letter-spacing:-0.2px;white-space:normal;word-spacing:-0.5px;background-color:#FFFFFF;"> One former official at the US National Transportation <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/safety" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #03B8DE;">Safety</a>Board, which investigates crashes but has no regulatory authority, said he was skeptical about the groundings until he heard that the UK was acting. <p style="padding:0px 0px 1.5em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;color:#111111;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:20.8px;letter-spacing:-0.2px;white-space:normal;word-spacing:-0.5px;background-color:#FFFFFF;"> “I’ve worked with the UK; I respect them,” said <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/peter-goelz" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Peter Goelz</a>, who served as managing director at NTSB. “You have to take their judgment seriously.” <p style="padding:0px 0px 1.5em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;color:#111111;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:20.8px;letter-spacing:-0.2px;white-space:normal;word-spacing:-0.5px;background-color:#FFFFFF;"> Babbitt, the former FAA administrator, said that he understood the growing pressure <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/aviation" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #03B8DE;">aviation</a> regulators face as people wait for answers to what happened in <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/ethiopia" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Ethiopia</a>, but that the public could be reassured by actions short of a full grounding. <p style="padding:0px 0px 1.5em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;color:#111111;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:20.8px;letter-spacing:-0.2px;white-space:normal;word-spacing:-0.5px;background-color:#FFFFFF;"> Regulators could put limits on how the Max is operated or consider temporarily disabling the <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/safety" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #03B8DE;">safety</a> feature implicated in the <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/indonesia" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Indonesia</a> accident, he said. In addition, they could mandate additional pilot <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/training" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #03B8DE;">training</a> on the plane. <p style="padding:0px 0px 1.5em;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;color:#111111;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:20.8px;letter-spacing:-0.2px;white-space:normal;word-spacing:-0.5px;background-color:#FFFFFF;"> “I think the world has gone mad, quite frankly,” said <a class="topiclink" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/jeffrey-guzzetti" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #000000;">Jeffrey Guzzetti</a>, the former director of the FAA’s accident investigation division. “I think it’s capricious. Civil <a class="topiclink always-topic" href="http://engineeringnews.co.za/topic/aviation" style="color:#000000;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dashed #03B8DE;">aviation</a>authorities are grounding a workhorse airplane with no evidence and seemingly on public fear.”

13 Mar,2019