Boeing 737 Max's fatal crash
On March 10, a Nairobi-bound Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-8 Max plane crashed just 6 minutes after take off from Addis Ababa (capital of Ethiopia), killing 157 people, including 4 Indians.
The Lion Air crash
This is the second fatal crash of the new Boeing 737 Max plane in less than 5 months. The Lion Air crash happened in October 2018, which killed 189 people on board.
Fastest selling Boeing plane worldwide
The Boeing 737 Max is the fastest selling airplane in Boeing's history. But, the back-to-back crashes have now raised concerns about its safety.
Consequences of the crash
After the crash, Ethiopian Airlines has grounded all its Boeing 737 MAX-8 planes. Following suit, US-based Cayman Airways, Chinese and Indonesian aviation regulators as well as several other airlines have also grounded their Boeing 737s fleet.
Indian carriers who have Boeing 737 in their fleet
Two Indian carriers have B737 Max in their fleet -- Jet Airways and SpiceJet. Jet's B737 MAX planes are grounded due to non-payment of lease, while SpiceJet is operating 13 of these planes, including one on its longest route -- Delhi-Hong Kong.
What DGCA said
India will issue additional safety measures for operating the Boeing 737 Max latest by March 12 morning. A DGCA official said, "DGCA is reviewing the the matter regarding safety issues post accident of the Boeing Ethiopian Airline 737. We shall issue additional safety instructions by Monday night or Tuesday morning in this regard for Indian operators."
How the aviation regulator had responded in the past
After the Lion Air crash, the DGCA had issued a slew of directives to both SpiceJet and Jet Airways to report any 'abnormal' issues with the Boeing 737 and had also asked them to land at the nearest airport in case the new plane shows any problem with its onboard maneuvering characteristics augmentation system (MCAS).
Performance review
Following inputs from Boeing and US Federal Aviation Administration, DGCA had asked the Indian airlines to alert their pilots about a potential handling of a particular situation.
Crashed Ethiopian Airlines 'black box' recovered
Investigators have reportedly recovered one of two black box recorders on the Ethiopian Airlines B737 Max. The cause of the crash will be known after a probe.
What aviation minister said
Aviation minister Suresh Prabhu tweeted: "Directed officials of DGCA to undertake safety assessment of Boeing 737-MAX (being flown by domestic carriers). Safety of the passengers is our utmost concern. Directed secretary and DGCA to take appropriate action immediately."