Transport Minister says he would board a Boeing 737 despite deadly Ethiopia crash

Transport Minister Marc Garneau says he would board “without hesitation” the type of aircraft that crashed in the Ethiopian Airlines accident on Sunday, stressing his confidence in the new plane.

Little is known about the crash, which happened shortly after take off from Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, en route to Nairobi, Kenya. All 157 aboard the Boeing 737 Max 8 — including 18 Canadians — died.

Concerns are being raised over parallels to a Lion Air crash involving the same model of aircraft in Indonesia last October, killing 189 people. However, Garneau says people should not jump to conclusions about the cause of the crash, telling reporters it could be one of “dozens of different possibilities.”

While officials in Ethiopia, China and Indonesia grounded their Boeing Max 8 aircraft after Sunday’s crash, there are no such plans in Canada.

After Garneau’s announcement on Tuesday, several other countries announced they would be suspending operations of the Boeing 737 Max 8.

An official with South Korean airline Eastar Jet said they were doing so in response to customer concerns.

Airlines in Aeromexico, Brazil’s Gol Airlines, India’s Jet Airways and others also temporarily grounded their Max 8s while Australia and Singapore suspended all flights into or out of the country by Boeing 737 Max aircraft.

“Flying is extremely safe in this country,” Garneau said. “I understand when something happens such as yesterday it draws a great deal of attention — and so it should — but flying is a very safe way to travel in this country.”

Air Canada, WestJet and Sunwing have a total of 41 Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft in their fleets.

The aircraft was certified by American authorities and Garneau said Transport Canada will not be independently investigating the safety of the model. The minister has been in touch with the U.S. Transportation Department Secretary Elaine Chao and is working with American aviation authorities to uncover the problem.

Garneau added he will not hesitate to take “any action necessary” after cause of the crash is determined.

Concerned passengers

Garneau’s remarks come in the wake of a statement from the Air Canada Pilots Association that called on the minister “to take proactive action to ensure the safety of the Canadian travelling public.”

Canada’s major airlines are being inundated on social media with questions about the safety of their fleet in the wake of the fatal Ethiopian Airlines crash on Sunday.

In response, WestJet tweeted Monday it is not grounding any of its 13 Max 8s and is “working with Boeing to ensure the continued safe operation of our Max fleet.”

Air Canada’s 24 Max 8 aircraft have performed “excellently” and met safety and reliability standards, the airline said in an email.

In a statement Monday, Boeing said it does “not have any basis to issue new guidance to operators.”

Black box found

Investigators in Ethiopia are trying to determine the cause of Sunday’s crash.

The black box and cockpit voice recorder of Ethiopian Airlines plane have been recovered at the crash site. However, the black box is partially damaged.

“We will see what we can retrieve from it,” said an airline official speaking to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity for lack of authorization.

It was not clear what caused the plane to go down in clear weather, but the pilot sent out a distress call and was given clearance to return, the airline’s CEO said on Sunday.

The plane was new and had been delivered to the airline in November, records show.

The Ethiopian Airlines CEO “stated there were no defects prior to the flight, so it is hard to see any parallels with the Lion Air crash yet,” said Harro Ranter, founder of the Aviation Safety Network, which compiles information about accidents worldwide.

Ethiopian Airlines said Ethiopian authorities, manufacturer Boeing and other international stakeholders will collaborate on an investigation

With files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press