FAA Not Going To Ground Boeing 737 Max Planes In U.S. Despite Actions Of Other Countries
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The Federal Aviation Administration stated there's no concrete evidence to order a grounding of Boeing 737 Max planes.
They're waiting for more information from Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash.
Concerns have been growing worldwide, including in South Florida, over the Boeing Max 8 planes since two planes crashed shortly after takeoff months apart in October and again this month.
"Another seat-mate, she was a little nervous," traveler Karen Heckman said.
Heckman and others arrived Tuesday in South Florida from Saint Croix. They flew on a Boeing 737 Max 8 plane.
Since the first crash in Indonesia, Boeing announced Monday, it has worked on flight control enhancements for all Boeing 737 Max planes.
Tuesday, the Associated Press learned two pilots have reported the nose of plane dipping sharply during takeoff when it's in autopilot. It's unclear when those incidents happened and where.
Passengers in South Florida hope crews continue to check planes before taking off.
"I just hope they're doing all of the safety checks that they need to before we get on," Traveler Kristen Hart said.
American Airlines and Southwest have Boeing 737 Max 8 planes in their fleets.
American told CBS4 News, it has 24 planes doing 90 flights a day in and out of Miami International Airport.
Southwest has 34 planes but a spokesperson couldn't narrow down how many are flown out of FLL on a day-to-day basis.
"I would think they would've grounded the whole fleet until, at least, they find out what the problem was," Traveler Maloma Macedon said.
Concerns are continuing to grow as officials around the globe investigate and call for the planes to be grounded.
In an email to CBS4 News, a spokesperson for Southwest stated:
"We are not issuing refunds of non-refundable fares, but we are working with Customers individually who wish to rebook their flight to another aircraft type."
Boeing said its planes are safe. In a statement, the company said in-part: "The United States Federal Aviation Administration is not mandating any further action at this time, and based on the information currently available, we do not have any basis to issue new guidance to operators."
There are four planes in the 737 max family; the 7,8,9 and 10 models.
The company says the 737 max plane is the fastest selling plane in the company's history.
Tuesday, lawmakers on both sides expressed their concerns over the US not following other countries.
"I'm advising members of my own family to change planes, change flights," Connecticut Democratic Senator Sen Richard Blumenthal said.
"It makes sense to ground aircraft involved in two very tragic accidents," Utah Republican Senator Mitt Romney said.
The leaders of the US Department of Transportation stands by the FAA.
"If an issue that affects safety is identified, the department and the FAA will not hesitate to take immediate and appropriate action," Secretary Elaine Chao said.
Late Tuesday, United Airlines told CBS 4 News, it doesn't have Max 8 planes but it does have Max 9s, which is a bigger and faster model. But the company says travelers are safe.
The United Arab Emirates, which is an international travel hub, grounded max 8s and max 9s Tuesday night.
