CLEVELAND — Two crashes of the same airplane in the course of five months has the aviation industry on edge.
In the U.S. four airlines fly the Boeing 737 Max 8: American, Southwest, United and Air Canada. NBC News reports it’s the fastest selling airplane in Boeing history.
While the plane has been grounded in countries like China and Indonesia – the sites of the two crashes – it continues to fly in the United States. Though, the former head of the NTSB says, that should be re-evaluated.
“My personal feeling on this is that Boeing Aircraft company ought to voluntarily itself ground these aircraft because of the similarities between these two accidents,” says Jim Hall. ”It's a brand new aircraft, and we had such a remarkable safety record in aviation, that I think this blip needs to be addressed by the manufacturer, and they need to do detailed- A detailed look, and with these black boxes available, that'll be able to be done in a short term."
The plane does not fly through Cleveland Hopkins Airport often, though airport officials didn’t immediately respond to questions from Channel 3.
Airlines have not begun allowing passengers to re-book on different planes – or allowed for refunds because of the accidents. But there are quick ways to find out if the plane you’re looking at is a Max 8. On the booking pages of United, Southwest and American you can find the make and model of the plane on the menu page after you enter your departure cities and travel dates.