(Bloomberg) -- Australia and New Zealand grounded Gippsland GA8 Airvan planes over safety concerns after a deadly crash in Sweden this month killed nine.

Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority halted operations of the planes made by Gippsaero Pty Ltd for 15 days from July 20, it said in a statement, adding it has sent an airworthiness engineer to Sweden to observe the crash investigation and collect relevant safety information. There are 63 GA8 aircraft registered in Australia out of a global fleet of 228, it said.

“CASA has been working closely with the Swedish and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency,” it said. “In response to CASA temporarily suspending GA8 operations in Australia, EASA has issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive to European GA8 aircraft owners and operators to not operate the aeroplane except for ferry flights.”

The fatal crash occurred near Umea in northern Sweden during a skydiving flight, CASA said. The Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand said separately that information coming out of an initial probe showed the plane appeared to have suffered structural failure at 4,000 meters altitude.

The GA8 is mainly used in New Zealand on tourist flight-seeing operations, the N.Z. authority said, adding that 21 aircraft and 10 operators would be affected.

To contact the reporter on this story: Eduard Gismatullin in Hong Kong at egismatullin@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Subramaniam Sharma </s> The Civil Aviation Authority is grounding all 21 Gippsland GA8 Airvan aircraft in New Zealand after a crash in Sweden which killed 9 people last week.

Aviation New Zealand Chief Executive John Nicholson said three flight companies currently operated the aircraft including Salt Air, which operates in Auckland and Northland, Air Safari, which operates at Mt Cook and Southern Alps Air.

The aircraft generally seats eight passengers and a pilot, with many used in the South Island around the Milford Sounds and Queenstown.

Director of Civil Aviation Graeme Harris said the grounding was not a decision made lightly.

“I have sufficient concerns about the safety of these aircraft to make it necessary for me to ground them until more is known about the cause of the 14 July crash in Sweden that killed all 9 people on board a GA8 Airvan,” he said in a statement.

“We do not take these steps lightly but when there is a reasonable doubt about the safety of an aircraft, the flying public, operators and pilots of the affected aircraft in New Zealand must be satisfied that the CAA will act with their safety as a priority.”

“Whilst I regret any inconvenience this grounding will cause and acknowledge its significant commercial impact, I simply cannot compromise when I have information that indicates any unacceptable risk.”

A technical specialist from Australia is off to Sweden to help with the investigation into the crash. </s> Victorian-made aeroplanes have been grounded after a fatal crash in Sweden left nine people dead.

Operations of the GippsAero GA8 plane have been suspended for 15 days, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority announced on Saturday.

It comes after the same model of plane crashed during a skydiving flight near Umea in northern Sweden on July 14.

"CASA has temporarily suspended GA8 operations as a precautionary step pending the outcome of further investigation by Swedish and European authorities," the authority said in a statement.

The European Union's aviation safety agency has issued an order to GA8 aircraft owners and operators across the EU not to operate the plane except for ferry flights.

The temporary suspension will last up to 15 days from midnight on July 20 and affects all GA8 aircraft in Australia and all Australian-registered GA8 planes overseas.

The single engine, high wing aeroplane with fixed tricycle landing gear is made in the Latrobe Valley by GippsAero. </s> Twenty-one New Zealand planes - which are used globally for skydiving and scenic flights - have been banned from flying out of fear they may not be safe.

Today Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) director Graeme Harris suspended the airworthiness certificates of all 21 Gippsland GA8 Airvan aircraft currently operating in New Zealand saying he had "sufficient concerns about the safety of these aircraft".

It's a direct response to the crash that killed nine people when a GA8 Airvan plane carrying them for a parachute jump crashed in northern Sweden soon after taking off.

Harris told the Herald until more was known about the cause of the Sweden crash the suspension would remain in place.

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"We do not take these steps lightly but when there is a reasonable doubt about the safety of an aircraft, the flying public, operators and pilots of the affected aircraft in New Zealand must be satisfied that the CAA will act with their safety as a priority.

"While I regret any inconvenience this grounding will cause and acknowledge its significant commercial impact; I simply cannot compromise when I have information that indicates any unacceptable risk," he said.

Harris said he had been in contact with his Australian counterpart at CASA (Civil Aviation Safety Authority) as the GA8 was Australian manufactured and they were the designated state of design and manufacture.

"I understand that CASA has sent a technical specialist to Sweden to gain first hand insight into the progress of the crash investigation.

"Based on information coming out of the initial investigation into the crash it appears the aeroplane, at 4000 meters altitude, suffered structural failure, but, at this time, the root cause of the accident cannot be confirmed," Harris said.

The grounding of the New Zealand planes is effective immediately and will be reviewed as further information becomes available from Sweden and Australia. </s> Australian-made GippsAero GA8 aircraft grounded after nine die in Sweden plane crash

Aviation authorities have grounded an Australian-made aircraft involved in a crash in Sweden in which nine people were killed.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has suspended operations of the GippsAero GA8 aircraft for 15 days as a precaution, as investigations continue into the cause of the crash near Umea in northern Sweden on July 14.

All nine people on the skydiving flight died in the crash.

"While we gather more information about that, we thought it was prudent to put them on the ground," CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said.

Swedish authorities have expressed concern that the aircraft may have broken up during the flight.

The GA8 is manufactured in Australia by GippsAero, which is based in the Latrobe Valley.

CASA said there were 228 of the planes in service globally, including 63 in Australia.

Spokesman Peter Gibson said the GA8 was first certified in 2000 and had not had a difficult safety history prior to the crash.

He said GippsAero held a production certificate issued by CASA to manufacture the GA8 and was subject to regular surveillance and safety checks by the authority.

The GA8 is a single-engine high-wing aeroplane with fixed tricycle landing gear.

It is used in Australia for a range of purposes, including charter flights and skydiving.

CASA has written to all Australian operators of GA8 aircraft, advising them of the suspension.

It has also written to all national aviation authorities who have GA8 aircraft operating in their jurisdictions.

In response to CASA's suspension, the European Union Aviation Safety Authority has issued an emergency airworthiness directive to European GA8 aircraft owners and operators to not fly the aeroplane except for ferry flights — for example, to return the aircraft to base.

CASA has sent an airworthiness engineer to Sweden to observe the accident investigation. </s> This article is more than 1 month old

This article is more than 1 month old

Sixty-three Victorian-made planes have been grounded in Australia after a fatal crash in Sweden that killed nine people.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority has suspended operations of GippsAero GA8 aircraft after the accident in Umeo on 14 July. No one on board survived the crash.

The GA8 is manufactured in Australia by GippsAero, which is based in the Latrobe Valley.

CASA said in a statement it had temporarily suspended all flights pending the outcome of an investigation by Swedish and European authorities.

The suspension will be for up to 15 days from 20 July to midnight 3 August and affects all GA8 aircraft operating in Australia and all Australian-registered GA8 aircraft operating overseas. There are 63 GA8 aircraft registered in Australia out of a worldwide fleet of 228.

The GA8 is a single-engine high-wing aeroplane with fixed tricycle landing gear. In Australia, the GA8 is used in a range of operations including charter, aerial work and parachuting.

“CASA has written to all Australian operators of GA8 aircraft advising them of the temporary suspension and reminding them of their obligation to comply with all applicable GA8 airworthiness directives issued by CASA,” a spokesman said.

“CASA has also written to all national aviation authorities who have GA8 aircraft operating in their jurisdiction advising them that CASA has imposed a 15-day temporary operating suspension on these aircraft.”

CASA said the authority had been working closely with Sweden and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.

It said in response to the temporary suspension of GA8 operations in Australia, EASA had issued an emergency airworthiness directive to European GA8 aircraft owners and operators to not operate the aeroplane except for ferry flights.

CASA has also sent an airworthiness engineer to Sweden to observe the accident investigation and collect safety information.

The authority said GippsAero held a production certificate issued by CASA to manufacture the GA8 and the company was subject to regular surveillance and safety checks by CASA.

The aircraft type was certified in 2000 by CASA for normal operations, which includes skydiving. </s> Reports say witnesses saw parachutists try to jump clear of GippsAero GA8 Airvan as it plunged into islands

This article is more than 1 month old

This article is more than 1 month old

A small plane carrying parachutists crashed in northern Sweden soon after takeoff on Sunday and all nine people on board were killed, officials said.

The accident took place a little after 2pm local time on Storsandskar island. Swedish media quoted witnesses reporting that some of the parachutists were seen trying to jump off the plane just before the crash.

Swedish airport authority Swedavia said the crashed aircraft was a GippsAero GA8 Airvan, an Australian-made single-engine plane popular with parachutists, that took off from Umea airport. The cause of the crash was not yet known.

“I can confirm that all those aboard the plane have died,” said Vasterbotten municipality spokeswoman Gabriella Bandling.

One witness told Swedish broadcaster SVT she heard a loud noise from above before she saw the plane going straight down and crashing into the island.

The Swedish prime minister, Stefan Lofven, expressed “great sadness” over the accident in a statement to Swedish news agency TT. He sent condolences to the families of the victims and said the government would stay in close touch with officials probing the crash “as it is important to investigate the cause”. </s> Canada is grounding all of its Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft and banning the jet from entering its airspace until further notice as safety concerns continue to mount following two deadly crashes.

"This safety notice restricts commercial passenger flights from any air operator, both domestic and foreign, of the Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 aircraft from arriving, departing, or overflying Canadian airspace," Transport Minister Marc Garneau told reporters earlier today. (The Max 9 has an extended fuselage, but uses the same systems as the Max 8s).

Canada had been one of the last holdouts on temporarily banning the Max 8s in the wake of the recent Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed all 157 people on board, including 18 Canadians. The U.K., the European Union, Australia and other countries had moved already to ban the jet from their airspace in response to growing safety concerns.

Garneau said the decision to issue the safety notice was made after his department received new data suggesting a similarity between the Ethiopian Airlines crash and another deadly crash near Indonesia in October.

The minister said much of the new information is new and unproven, but added:

"There are — and I hasten to say not conclusive — but there are similarities that sort of exceed a certain threshold in our minds with respect to the possible cause of what happened in Ethiopia"

"My departmental officials continue to monitor the situation and I will not hesitate to take swift action should we discover any additional safety issues," he said.

U.S. follows suit

U.S. President Donald Trump issued an "emergency order" grounding all Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 a few hours after Canada's decision.

Garneau said Canada alerted the U.S. to the safety notice on Wednesday morning.

According to Reuters, the Federal Aviation Administration held urgent meetings on the issue after Canada announced it would become the latest major country to ground the jets.

According to a source with direct knowledge of the matter, Garneau directly contacted his counterpart, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao. The source said the Americans understood Garneau's decision and did not try to persuade Ottawa to change its mind.

"It was always a possibility, but the fact that they announced it just after us came as a bit of a surprise," said Garneau.

Transport Minister Marc Garneau discusses the decision to ground Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 aircraft, after Canada had been one of the last holdouts. 9:09

Air Canada, which already had cancelled multiple scheduled flights to and from London in response to the U.K. closing its airspace yesterday, said it's working to rebook passengers.

"Air Canada's cancellation and rebooking policies are in place with full fee waiver for affected customers," said a spokesperson.

"We are working to rebook impacted customers as soon as possible, but given the magnitude of our 737 MAX operations, which on average carry nine to twelve thousand customers per day, customers can expect delays in rebooking and in reaching Air Canada call centres."

WestJet also said it will begin complying with Transport Canada's direction.

"We respect the decision made by Transport Canada and are in the process of grounding the 13 MAX aircraft in our fleet," said the company in an email.

"This decision has an impact on the travel plans of our WestJet guests and we ask for understanding as we work to rebook all guests affected as quickly as possible."

An Air Canada Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft is towed in on Wednesday behind another Air Canada Boeing 737 MAX 8 at Toronto's Pearson International Airport. (Chris Helgren/Reuters)

Toronto-based Sunwing Airlines announced late Tuesday it would voluntarily ground its four Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft for "evolving commercial reasons," such as airspace restrictions imposed by some destinations.

The union representing Air Canada's 8,500 flight attendants welcomed the decision.

"In light of the new data received by the federal government, we welcome the Minister's decision to err on the side of prudence until the analysis of the causes of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash is completed," said CUPE spokesperson Wesley Lesosky.

Transport Minister Marc Garneau illustrates the similarities between the Lion Air flight crash from October 2018 to this past weekend's Ethiopian Airlines plane crash out of Addis Ababa. 1:23

Earlier this week, Garneau said it would be "premature" to ground all 41 of the 737 Max 8s currently owned by Canadian air carriers.

However, shortly after the U.K. announced yesterday it is temporarily banning the jets from its airspace, Garneau tweeted that he was cancelling previous plans and meeting with his civil aviation expert panel to discuss the Max 8 aircraft.

Both the Conservatives and the NDP had been calling on the government to ground the planes as a precaution.

Brian Masse, the NDP innovation, science and economic development critic, criticized the speed of Garneau's decision Wednesday, saying "it should have been made sooner" given how other countries took action well before the midday Wednesday announcement.

Masse is asking Garneau to enact a "contingency plan" to ensure passengers who find their travel plans disrupted by the grounding of these aircraft are not "gouged" by airlines during the rebooking process.

"Canadian airlines have the privilege of providing air transport to millions of Canadians and this entails comprehensive responsibilities to ensure their passengers are safe and treated fairly in the market," he wrote in a letter. "Consumers should not be further victimized by predatory practices or pricing during this time."

Pilot reported problems: airline

Sunday's disaster follows another fatal crash of the 737 Max 8 jet in Indonesia five months ago, which killed 189 people and raised concerns about the fleet's automated flight systems.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre both agree that the government should ground the Boeing 737 Max 8 jets until they can be proven to be safe. 0:55

Asrat Begashaw, a spokesperson for Ethiopian Airlines, said that before the crash, the pilot reported flight-control problems and asked to return to Addis Ababa, where the flight to Nairobi originated.

The 'black box' flight recorders from the crash site will be sent to Europe for analysis, he said. </s> Helsinki: Swedish officials said a small plane carrying parachutists crashed in northern Sweden soon after takeoff on Sunday and all nine people on board were killed.

The accident took place a little after 2pm local time on Storsandskar island. Swedish media quoted witnesses reporting that some of the parachutists were seen trying to jump off the plane just before the crash.

Swedish airport authority Swedavia said the crashed aircraft was a GippsAero GA8 Airvan, an Australian-made single-engine plane popular with parachutists, that took off from Umea Airport. The cause of the crash is not yet known.

"I can confirm that all those aboard the plane have died," Region Vasterbotten municipality spokeswoman Gabriella Bandling said. </s> HEJERE, Ethiopia — The Latest on Ethiopian Airlines crash (all times local):

The United Arab Emirates, a key international travel hub, has barred the Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 from its airspace following the crash of a similar jetliner in Ethiopia.

It cited the similarities between Sunday’s Ethiopian Airlines flight and another by Indonesia’s Lion Air last year for its decision.

The budget carrier FlyDubai, owned by the Dubai government, uses the aircraft as a workhorse of its fleet.

FlyDubai said in a statement “is adjusting its schedule to minimise disruption to passengers.”

It flies 11 Boeing 737 MAX 8s and two MAX 9s.

New Zealand and Fiji have suspended Boeing 737 Max 8 flights in and out of the two countries following the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines jetliner.

The decisions affect only one operator, Fiji Airways. No New Zealand airlines use the Max 8 planes.

Much of the world, including the entire European Union and Australia, has grounded the Boeing jetliner from their airspace, leaving the United States as one of the few remaining operators of the plane involved in two deadly accidents in just five months.

Graeme Harris, a director at New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority, said the decision followed discussions with other aviation authorities.

Fiji Airways and Fiji’s Civil Aviation Authority said they would ground the fleet until more information is known about the cause of the Ethiopian Airlines accident..

The union for Air Canada flight attendants says the company is allowing flight attendants who don’t want to fly on Boeing 737 Max airplanes to be reassigned and the union says they want that option to continue.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees issued a statement Tuesday asking the company to put the safety of passengers and crew first.

Wesley Lesosky, the president of the union’s Air Canada component, says the union is calling on Air Canada “to at a minimum continue to offer reassignment to crew members who do not want to fly on this type of airplane.” Union spokesman Philippe Gagnon says that option is currently being offered.

Before clearing his schedule to meet with experts, Canadian Transport Minister Marc Garneau said he has no plans to ground Canada’s fleet of 737 Max aircraft, but that “all options are on the table.”

Boeing’s CEO has spoken with President Donald Trump and voiced his confidence that plane maker’s 737 Max is safe.

The call Tuesday came as the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration continues to back the airworthiness of the 737 Max despite a growing number of countries grounding the aircraft in the wake of the Ethiopian Airlines crash over the weekend.

The FAA says its review has so far not turned up any basis for grounding the jets.

Boeing said CEO Dennis Muilenburg spoke with Trump and expressed “his confidence in the safety of the 737 Max.” The White House confirmed the two talked but did not disclose the content of the conversation.

Icelandair Group says it has temporarily suspended operations of its three Boeing 737 Max aircraft until further notice.

President and CEO Bogi Nels Bogason said Tuesday that the company will follow developments closely and work with local, European and U.S. authorities on any steps that need to be taken.

Bogason said, however, that based available information, Icelandair’s safety processes and the training of its crew, the company is confident of the safety of the aircraft.

He said the temporary suspension won’t impact the company’s operations, as it only affects three aircraft out of a fleet of 33.

Former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says the U.S. should ground the Boeing 737 Max aircraft, just as his agency halted flights of another Boeing plane six years ago because of safety concerns.

LaHood was transportation secretary in 2013 when the department grounded the Boeing 787 because of overheating lithium-ion battery packs. The planes were idled for less than a month, until Boeing crafted new fire-resistant compartments around the batteries.

LaHood says current Secretary Elaine Chao should do the same thing, even if it means overruling the FAA, which has taken no action despite dozens of other countries banning the plane from their skies.

He says that Chao has the authority to suspend the 737 Max and require inspections by both FAA and Boeing personnel.

Kenya lost more citizens than anyone in the Ethiopian Airlines crash, and its transport minister is now trying to reassure a grieving country that no Kenyan airline has the Boeing 737 Max 8 plane in its fleet.

James Macharia in a statement late Tuesday also says “no foreign carrier is currently operating the aircraft type in Kenyan airspace.” The statement appears to stop short of joining many countries in closing airspace to the plane.

As families of the 32 Kenyans killed seek answers, the minister says Kenya’s government is working with Ethiopian Airlines to help relatives travel to Ethiopia’s capital.

A global team of investigators is looking into the cause of the crash that killed 157 people.

India says it is immediately grounding all Boeing 737 Max 8 planes after Sunday’s Ethiopian Airlines crash.

A statement late Tuesday says the planes will be grounded till appropriate modifications and safety measures are undertaken to ensure their safe operations.

The statement does not say how many planes are affected.

India says it continues to “consult closely with regulators around the world, airlines and aircraft manufacturers to ensure passenger safety.”

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said there will be a thorough investigation into the cause of the crash Sunday of the Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max 8 airplane in which 157 people died.

“The Ethiopian Airlines crash will be studied in detail. The conclusions that will come out of its probe will be beneficial to the rest of the world,” said Abiy at a press conference with visiting French President Emmanuel Macron.

“Our technical team is conducting a detailed study,” said Abiy. “These types of accidents broke everyone’s heart. I hope we will learn from this crash.”

Italy is joining other European countries in closing its airspace to Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft.

The Italian Civil Aviation Authority says aircraft of that type cannot operate to and from airports in Italy starting at 9 p.m. local time (2000 GMT) on Tuesday, until further notice.

The authority says the measure is precautionary, given the lack of “reliable information” regarding the cause of the crash of the Ethiopian Airlines jet shortly after takeoff on Sunday.

The European Aviation Safety Agency has just issued a directive grounding all Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 model aircraft. It applies to all European Union airspace.

The European Aviation Safety Agency has issued a directive grounding all Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 model aircraft following two recent deadly crashes.

The grounding applies to all European Union airspace.

The crash in Ethiopia on Sunday came five months after an Indonesian Lion Air jet plunged into the ocean.

EASA said in its emergency airworthiness directive Tuesday that “at this early stage” of the most recent investigation, “it cannot be excluded that similar causes may have contributed to both events.”

It adds that “based on all available information, EASA considers that further actions may be necessary to ensure the continued airworthiness of the two affected models.”

It says companies may make one noncommercial flight to return their planes to a location where they can be inspected.

Consumer Reports is calling on airlines and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to ground Boeing 737 Max 8 jets until they finish a thorough safety investigation.

The consumer website says in a statement that American, Southwest and other carriers should do what foreign governments and airlines have done and temporarily suspend flights.

Britain, Germany, France, China and other countries have stopped the planes from flying or barred them from their airspace after Sunday’s deadly crash in Ethiopia.

Consumer Reports says the Ethiopian crash and a Lion Air crash in October justify grounding the planes.

“Telling the public that the airplane is airworthy, as the FAA has done, without offering further explanation, does far too little to relieve the uncertainty and fear created by these two tragedies,” the statement says.

Poland’s state carrier LOT says it is grounding its five Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft.

Several airlines in Europe and around the world have grounded the planes after a fatal crash in Ethiopia on Sunday and one in Indonesia last year.

LOT received its first Boeing 737 Max 8 in December 2017. It plans to have 15 such planes by January 2020.

The Dutch government has followed several other European nations in closing its airspace to the Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft that was involved in two recent fatal crashes.

Infrastructure and Water Ministry spokesman Roel Vincken says the government decided to close its airspace on Tuesday following advice from the Dutch aviation authority.

France, Britain and Germany also have announced airspace closures after the crash on Sunday of a Boeing 737 Max 8 in Ethiopia and another crash in October by the same model of plane in Indonesia.

Turkish Airlines says two Britain-bound Boeing 737 Max flights are returning to Istanbul after British airspace was closed to the aircraft.

A company official told The Associated Press on Tuesday the planes — one heading for London and the other for Birmingham — were about to land in Istanbul after being diverted back. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

The company earlier announced that it was grounding all 12 Boeing 737 Max aircraft in its fleet until further notice.

Canadian Transport Minister Marc Garneau says “all options are on the table” with regard to the country’s fleet of Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft but says the government currently has no plans to order the grounding of the plane.

Garneau’s comments came minutes after announcements from Britain, Germany, France and Ireland that they were grounding or closing airspace to the new Boeing plane involved in the Ethiopian Airlines disaster.

He later tweeted that he has canceled all his meetings and public events on Tuesday to meet with his Civil Aviation Expert Panel and will consider all potential actions.

Canada is working with the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority to determine if action is required.

No U.S. airlines have grounded the Boeing 737 Max 8 models that they fly, but at least one group representing flight attendants at a major carrier says it does not want to put its members on the plane until further investigations are completed.

After the second deadly crash involving the model in five months, several airlines and countries in Asia, Europe and the Middle East have grounded it or banned it from their airspace.

The Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents more than 26,000 flight attendants at American Airlines, called on CEO Doug Parker to “strongly consider grounding these planes until an investigation can be performed.” The group said flight attendants will not be forced to fly if they feel unsafe.

Brian Parrish, a spokesman for Southwest Airlines which flies 34 Max 8s, said the carrier remains confident about the plane’s safety. American Airlines Group, which flies 24 of the planes, said it has full confidence in the model.

Turkish Airlines says it is grounding all Boeing 737 Max aircraft in its fleet until further notice.

In a statement issued on Twitter on Tuesday, Turkish Airlines CEO Bilal Eksi said all Boeing 737 Max flights are suspended until the “uncertainty affecting safety is cleared.” He added that passenger safety was the company’s priority.

Turkish Airlines is the latest company around the world to ground the planes following the Ethiopian Airlines crash on Sunday.

The French Civil Aviation Authority has joined several other nations and closed French airspace to all Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft.

In a statement Tuesday, the authority says that “France is carefully following the progress of the inquiry” relating to the Ethiopian Airlines plane crash in Addis Ababa on Sunday that left 157 people dead.

It says French airline companies do not possess any of the Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft.

But as a precautionary measure, French authorities have decided to “forbid all commercial flights on a Boeing 737 Max departing from, traveling to, or flying across, France.”

Irish aviation authorities have suspended all variants of Boeing 737 Max aircraft into and out of Ireland’s airspace as European aviation regulators respond to recent crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.

Irish authorities say they made the decision “based on ensuring the continued safety of passengers and flight crew.”

The decision comes shortly after UK civilian aviation authorities took a similar step, motivated by the lack of information coming from the flight data recorder involved in the Ethiopian Airlines crash on Sunday.

Experts are chasing details on why the plane crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 157 on board. But answers could take months and regulators are taking steps in the interim.

Germany’s transport ministry says the country is closing its airspace to Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, following a similar decision by Britain.

The ministry confirmed to news agency dpa on Tuesday comments made by Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer to n-tv television.

The broadcaster quoted Scheuer on its website as saying safety is the priority, and “until all doubts are cleared up, I have ordered that German airspace be closed for the Boeing 737 Max with immediate effect.”

Germany joins a rapidly growing number of nations and carriers either grounding the planes or barring them from their airspace.

President Donald Trump is bemoaning the complexity of modern airplanes in the wake of two deadly crashes in the past five months.

Trump tweeted Tuesday that the additional “complexity creates danger” and hinders pilots from making “split second decisions” to ensure their passengers’ safety.

He added that “I don’t know about you, but I don’t want Albert Einstein to be my pilot.”

The president did not specifically mention the crashes but his remarks come after several nations, but not the United States, have grounded the Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft.

The aircraft crashed in Indonesia last year and in Ethiopia on Sunday.

Trump participated in a signing ceremony last month in Hanoi between U.S.-based Boeing and the Vietnamese government.

Norwegian Air Shuttle says it has grounded its Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft on recommendation from European aviation authorities after Sunday’s Ethiopian Airlines crash.

The Norwegian carrier has 18 of the planes.

Tomas Hesthammer, the low-cost carrier’s acting chief operating officer, says that “the safety and security of our customers and colleagues will never be compromised, and once authorities advise to cease operations we will of course comply.”

A growing number of airlines and countries around the world have grounded the planes.

British regulators have grounded Boeing 737 Max aircraft following the Ethiopian Airlines crash on Sunday.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority says in a statement Tuesday that though it had been monitoring the situation, it had as a precautionary measure “issued instructions to stop any commercial passenger flights from any operator arriving, departing or overflying UK airspace.”

Some five 737 Max aircraft are registered and operational in the United Kingdom, while a sixth had planned to commence operations later this week.

Several countries have now grounded the planes.

Experts are chasing details on why the plane crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 157 on board. Answers could take months.

Malaysian authorities say all flights by Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft into and out of the country have been suspended following two fatal crashes involving the jet in less than five months.

The Civil Aviation Authority said in a short statement Tuesday that no Malaysian carriers operate the Max 8, but that foreign airlines are banned from flying the plane in Malaysia, and from transiting in the country, until further notice.

A number of airlines and countries around the world have grounded the planes after a fatal crash in Ethiopia on Sunday and one in Indonesia last year.

Civil aviation authorities in the United Arab Emirates say they have joined U.S. authorities and Boeing “to investigate and collect data” regarding the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines jetliner.

The General Civil Aviation Authority made the announcement Tuesday via the Emirates’ state-run WAM news agency.

It comes as neighboring Oman says it will “temporarily suspend” all Boeing 737 Max aircraft at its airports.

The UAE’s aviation authority says it also contacted Ethiopian Airlines and Chinese authorities.

The statement adds that “the GCAA will not be reluctant to ground the UAE-registered Boeing 737 Max fleet, if required, to ensure the highest standard of aviation safety is achieved.”

The Dubai government-owned carrier FlyDubai uses the 737 Max on its flights.

Oman says it is “temporarily suspending” flights by Boeing 737 Max aircraft at its airports after the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines jetliner of the same type.

The Public Authority for Civil Aviation made the announcement Tuesday.

State-owned Oman Air operates five Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft. Oman is a sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula.

The crash of the Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max 8 on Sunday killed 157 people. A similar Lion Air plane crashed in Indonesia in October, killing 189 people.

Airlines around the world have begun grounding the aircraft as an investigation into Sunday’s crash continues.

A pilot who saw the Ethiopian Airlines crash site minutes after the disaster says the plane appeared to have “slid directly into the ground.”

Capt. Solomon Gizaw was among the first people dispatched to find the crash site, which was discovered by Ethiopia’s air force.

He tells The Associated Press that from above “there was nothing to see. It looked like the earth had swallowed the aircraft. ... We were surprised!”

He says it explains why rescue officials quickly sent bulldozers to begin digging out large pieces of the plane. He is the managing director of a private flight service.

Sunday’s crash shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa killed all 157 on board.

Ethiopian Airlines says it should take five days to identify the remains of the 157 people killed in Sunday’s crash outside Addis Ababa.

Spokesman Asrat Begashaw tells The Associated Press that “it will take five days to clear everything” and the airline would release more details later Tuesday.

A global team of investigators led by Ethiopian authorities is assembling.

The cause of the crash of the new plane on a clear day remains unknown.

Australia has suspended all flights into or out of the country by Boeing 737 Max aircraft, the type that was involved in Sunday’s Ethiopian Airlines crash.

Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority says no Australian airlines operate the aircraft type, but two foreign airlines — SilkAir and Fiji Airways — fly them to Australia.

It says Singapore-based SilkAir has already suspended operation of its 737 Max aircraft.

The Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 plane crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 157 people on board. Five months earlier, a similar Indonesian Lion Air jet plunged into the ocean, killing 189.

The Australian civil aviation authority’s director of aviation safety, Shane Carmody, says that because of the two accidents, the temporary suspension of Boeing 737 Max operations is in the best interest of safety.

A South Korean airline says it will suspend operations of its two Boeing 737 Max 8 planes, the same aircraft involved in the Ethiopian Airlines plane crash that killed 157 people.

An Eastar Jet official said Tuesday that the planes will be replaced by Boeing 737-800 planes from Wednesday on routes to Japan and Thailand. She didn’t want to be named, citing office rules.

She says the airline hasn’t found any problems, but is voluntarily grounding Boeing 737 Max 8s in a response to customer concerns. She says the planes will not be used until the completion of a government safety review on the aircraft.

An official from South Korea’s Transportation Ministry says it has yet to find any problems from safety reviews on Eastar’s planes that started Monday.

The Mideast budget airline FlyDubai says it will continue to fly Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft after reviewing a recent U.S. regulator statement about the aircraft.

FlyDubai says that “no further action is required at this time” over the aircraft, a workhorse in the Dubai government-owned carrier’s fleet.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said Monday that while others have drawn similarities between the Indonesia and Ethiopia crashes, the agency was not.

The FlyDubai statement says it remains “confident in the airworthiness of our fleet.” It operates 11 Boeing 737 Max-8 jetliners.

A team of U.S. aviation experts has arrived in Ethiopia to join an investigation into Sunday’s crash of an Ethiopian Airlines jetliner that killed 157 people.

As questions grow about the new Boeing plane involved in the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration said late Monday it is at the crash site outside the capital, Addis Ababa, with representatives from the National Transportation Safety Board.

They join an Ethiopian-led investigation that includes authorities from neighboring Kenya and elsewhere.

The plane crashed six minutes into a flight to Nairobi and a growing number of countries and airlines have grounded the new Boeing 737 Max 8 jetliner as a result.

One witness has told The Associated Press that smoke was coming from the plane’s rear before it crashed.

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The Gippsland GA8 Airvan is grounded in Australia, New Zealand and the European Union following a fatal crash on July 14.