Nigeria, Canada, EU, others bar B737 MAX from airspace

• Pilot complained of problem before crash-Gabremariam

More troubles for the embattled Boeing as Nigeria yesterday barred B737MAX 8 from its airspace in the aftermath of the crash of an Ethiopian Boeing 737 Max 8 plane that killed all passengers on board.

Minister of State, Hadi Sirika, announced the ban Wednesday in Abuja at the end of the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Aside from grounding the aircraft type, Canada has also taken a far reaching action as its Transport Minister announced on Wednesday that it would bar commercial 737 Max flights from its airspace, leaving the US virtually isolated in allowing the model to fly.

The decision by Washington’s North American neighbour, where 41 737 Max planes are operated by Air Canada, WestJet and Sunwing Airlines, will further fuel the pressure in the US for regulators to act.

The implication of the ban is that, air traffic controllers from Nigeria will not permit or hand landing permit to any airline who want to operate the aircraft to Nigeria or fly across the country’s airspace.

It is not however clear if any airline operates the aircraft, which before now has been described as the power horse of aviation in the world to Nigeria.

Nigeria joins countries in the EU, Ethiopia, China and Australia that have banned the Boeing model from its airspace until the manufacturer figures out a solution to the problem.

On Monday, China, Indonesia, and Ethiopia grounded all Boeing 737 MAX 8 airplanes after that model crashed on Sunday on its way to Nairobi.

Ethiopian Airlines grounded its fleet the day Flight ET 302 which was bound for Nairobi went down soon after it left Addis Ababa airport in Ethiopia at 8.38am local time.

Royal Air Maroc halted the commercial use of its sole operational Boeing 737 Max 8, pending tests and examinations of the airplane after the Ethiopian Airlines crash.

Air Maroc received a second Boeing 737 Max 8 airplane a few days ago, part of a deal with Boeing for acquiring a total of four.

Cayman Airways, the main carrier of the Cayman Islands, has also stopped flying its B-737 Max 8 jets. South Korea has begun a special inspection of the aircraft.

Of the 378 B-737 MAX 8 aircraft flying around the world today, about 100 belong to Chinese carriers and 20 to airlines based in South-east Asia.

US carrier Southwest Airlines has the largest fleet of B-737 MAX 8 planes, followed by Europe’s Ryanair.

 By the end of January this year, Boeing had delivered 350 of the new jets to customers, with another 4,661 on order.

A glimpse of what happened to the ill-fated flight ET302 which crashed six minutes after take-off from Bole International Airport, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia is beginning to unravel.

The Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Airlines, Tewolde GebreMariam gave account of cockpit voice recordings that the pilot of the doomed aircraft told controllers he was having control problems before the Boeing 737 Max 8 jet crashed.

“The pilot did not mention bird strikes or external problems, but requested permission to return to Bole airport in Addis Ababa within minutes of take-off. The pilot “reported back to air traffic controllers that he was having flight control problems”, but cited no other issues, Tewolde GebreMariam told the Wall Street Journal”.

He disclosed that the airline is planning to send the 737 Max 8 plane’s flight data recorder to Europe rather than the US for analysis.

Boeing, the United States based aircraft manufacturer’s new Max model was certified to fly by the FAA in March 2017.