On Sunday, an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed, killing all 157 passengers on board. Both this crash, and a Lion Air crash in Indonesia six months ago that killed 189 passengers, occurred on Boeing 737 Max 8 airplanes.
Ed Coleman is the department chair for safety science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott. He said the 737 is one of the most popular airliners in the world, and he wouldn’t expect those airliners to be discontinued in the wake of these crashes.
“It’s been flying for a long time," Coleman said. "The 737 actually has a very, very good safety record so I wouldn’t see it being removed from service. I think that would be a knee-jerk reaction if someone were to do that.”
Southwest Airlines has 34 Boeing 737 Max 8 planes in its fleet, while American Airlines has 24. Both airlines say they have full confidence in the safety of the aircraft and their crews.
