FAA grounds Boeing’s 737 MAX, says ‘new evidence’ points to similarities in two crashes

March 13-- Mar. 13--President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that federal authorities were grounding all Boeing 737 MAX airplanes, and the Federal Aviation Administration said the decision was based on new evidence collected at the site of an Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed 157 people

The FAA said the new evidence, combined with "newly refined satellite data" that became available earlier Wednesday, suggested possible similarities between the crash and the fatal Lion Air crash in October on another 737 MAX.

The stoppage follows a cascade of countries that banned the MAX plane in the wake of Sunday's crash. The United States had continued to allow the plane to operate, with Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg calling Trump on Tuesday to reiterate that the company believed the MAX aircraft was safe.

"Boeing is an incredible company. They are working very, very hard right now," Trump told reporters at the White House in announcing the government's new decision Wednesday. "Hopefully they'll very quickly come up with the answer. But until they do, the planes are grounded."

Boeing followed Trump's remarks by sending a statement that it supported a temporary suspension of MAX operations around the globe.

"We are supporting this proactive step out of an abundance of caution," Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said. "We are doing everything we can to understand the cause of the accidents, in partnership with the investigators, deploy safety enhancements and help ensure this does not happen again."

Trump's announcement came just hours after Canadian officials abruptly banned all Boeing 737 MAX planes from operating in the country's airspace. Transport Minister Marc Garneau said that new satellite data showed similarities between Sunday's 737 MAX 8 crash in Ethiopia and a previous crash involving the same model.

Aircraft tracking company Aireon said it provided the real-time satellite tracking data, which shows the plane's activity for the duration of the flight. The company also provided the data on Monday to U.S. authorities, including the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration, said company spokeswoman Jessie Hillenbrand.

FAA Acting Administrator Daniel Elwell told reporters Wednesday the agency had reviewed "refined" data from Aireon.

The crash in Ethiopia, which occurred shortly after takeoff and killed all 157 people on board, occurred just five months after a Lion Air crash in Indonesia, which killed 189 people minutes after takeoff. Data from that crash showed that pilots were fighting against an automated system that repeatedly pushed the airplane's nose down due to a faulty sensor.

The FAA said that taken together, the new evidence from the wreckage site and the satellite data "indicates some similarities between the" Ethiopian Airlines and Lion Air crashes "that warrant further investigation of the possibility of a shared cause for the two incidents that needs to be better understood and addressed."

While Trump announced the news, Elwell told reporters he, as acting FAA boss, ultimately made the decision to temporarily ground the MAX aircraft. He declined to say how long the emergency order might last.

Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde Gebremariam told CNN on Tuesday that the pilot of the flight that crashed reported "flight control problems" and asked to return to the airport, a request captured in recorded conversations with air traffic controllers. He added that the similarities between the Lion Air and Ethiopian crashes were "substantial," noting both planes were new and crashed shortly after takeoff.

House Democrats plan to conduct "rigorous oversight" to get to the bottom of the FAA's decision-making process, according to a statement from U.S. Rep Rick Larsen, D-WA, chair of the House Subcommittee on Aviation, and Peter DeFazio, D-OR, chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

"Despite repeated assurances from the FAA in recent days, it has become abundantly clear to us that not only should the 737 MAX be grounded but also that there must be a rigorous investigation into why the aircraft, which has critical safety systems that did not exist on prior models, was certified without requiring additional pilot training," the statement said.

Garneau said the satellite data provided to Canada allowed his agency's experts to track data points such as the fluctuations in the vertical profile of the aircraft.

"This is not conclusive, but it is something that points possibly in that direction. And, at this point, we feel that threshold has been crossed and that's why we are taking these measures," Garneau said.

Garneau said he is awaiting more conclusive information that would hopefully come with the voice and data recorders from Ethiopian Airlines' Flight 302. Ethiopian Airlines said it plans to send those recorders to Europe for analysis.

The 737 MAX is the latest iteration of Boeing's popular 737 line of planes. The first completed MAX plane was delivered in 2017, and there are now nearly 400 in operation around the world. At the end of January, Boeing had a massive backlog of 4,661 MAXs on order.

In the United States, Southwest Airlines, American Airlines and United Airlines all fly the 737 MAX -- they have 65 MAX aircraft between them. SeaTac-based Alaska Airlines does not have any in operation but has a newer model, called the MAX 9, on order.

At Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, only a handful of flights take place on the MAX, all are on Southwest Airlines. Perry Cooper, an airport spokesman, said there was not yet any impact to operations there as a result of the grounding but advised passengers to check with their airline just in case that changes.

Boeing stock initially dove down after the grounding order but actually ended up slightly for the day.

Staff writer Mike Rosenberg contributed to this report.

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