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By Ben Kesslen and Farnoush Amiri
President Donald Trump announced an upcoming emergency order Wednesday grounding Boeing 737 Max jn the wake of the Ethiopian Airlines crash on Sunday and the Lion Air accident in October that together killed 346 people.
His announcement comes as the FAA has been under mounting pressure from aviation advocates and others to ban flights of the planes pending the completion of investigations into the Ethiopian Airlines crash Sunday that killed 157 people and a Lion Air accident in Indonesia in October in which 189 people perished..
“We’re 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 announced, referring to “new information and physical evidence that we’ve received” in addition to some complaints.”
The planned emergency order also follows similar directives from a growing number of countries around the world — including Canada, European nations and China — grounding the Max 8 and Max 9 aircraft.
Canadian Transport Minister Marc Garneau’s announced earlier Wednesday that the jets would not be allowed to fly into his country’s airspace followed the lead of other countries that have banned flights of the planes pending safety assurances.
“This safety notice is effective immediately, and will remain in place until further notice,” Garneau said in a statement.
The European Union, China, and Iraq and airlines such as Aeromexico also banned flights of the Boeing Max 8 and Max 9 pending safety assurances.
U.S. aviation officials have so far declined to follow suit.
Garneau said his country’s requirements for new procedures and training “went above and beyond the measures directed by the United States Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing.”
On Wednesday, former Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said he would be concerned about flying on a Boeing 737 Max 8 plane.
LaHood, a Republican who served in the Obama administration from 2009-2013, spoke with Sara Eisen on CNBC about the FAA’s decision to keep the plane flying as countries around the world have grounded the 737 Max.
“What we need to do is ground the planes, inspect the planes, and use FAA safety inspectors and Boeing safety inspectors collaborating together, figure out if there’s something wrong and if there’s not, tell the public these planes are safe,” he said.
While LaHood acknowledged the FAA is looking into the problem, he cautioned that “there’s not 100% certainty that these planes are safe.”
LaHood isn’t alone in his call. Passengers have been expressing concern about flying the planes and politicians from both parties have said the planes should be grounded.
When asked if the planes not be flown just because citizens are concerned and on what the FAA is calling “speculation,” LaHood shot back.
“Well, it’s not speculation,” he said. “I’m suggesting that the agency that has the responsibility for aviation safety step up and carry out their responsibility.”
“Talk to the families of the people who went down in the Ethiopian crash,” LaHood added. “You talk to those families and you ask them if they wish those planes had been inspected–and the answer will be yes.”