Officials in Indonesia, where a nearly new Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed into the sea on Monday, killing all 189 on board, ordered on Tuesday that all Max 8 aircraft in the country operated by commercial airlines must be inspected. It was not clear if the aircraft are grounded pending the inspections, or precisely what the inspectors would be checking. A government official told CNN that Lion Air has 11 of the models in its fleet and national carrier Garuda Indonesia has one. The airplane that crashed had been worked on the day before, after another crew reported problems with “unreliable” airspeed readings, according to the BBC. The crew also reported the altitude readings differed on the captain’s and first officer’s instruments. Engineers checked and repaired the issue, and cleared the aircraft to return to service, Lion Air CEO Edward Sirait told local media.
Meanwhile, searchers continue to retrieve remains and debris from the crash site. The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder have not yet been located. Lion Air director Daniel Putut told reporters his staff will meet with a Boeing team on Wednesday. “We have many questions for them,” he said. “This was a new plane.” The airline had acquired the airplane just two months ago, and it had logged 800 hours. Boeing released a statement on Monday stating they are “deeply saddened by the loss of Lion Air Flight JT 610,” and will provide technical assistance “at the request and under the direction of government authorities investigating the accident.” The accident investigation will be conducted by the National Transportation Safety Committee of Indonesia.
