Signs Order Grounding The Airplanes 'Immediately'

President Donald Trump has signed an order grounding all Boeing 737 MAX 8 and MAX 9 airliners in the wake of the accident involving one of the airplanes in Ethiopia over the weekend. "Those planes are grounded effective immediately," Trump told reporters. "Safety is our paramount concern."

USA Today reports that the U.S. was the last nation to order airlines to stop flying Boeing's newest jetliners. Canada issued an order grounding the aircraft Wednesday morning.

The FAA on Tuesday had issued a statement saying that it was not planning to order the airplanes to stop flying. That information was updated Wednesday. "The FAA is ordering the temporary grounding of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft operated by U.S. airlines or in U.S. territory. The agency made this decision as a result of the data gathering process and new evidence collected at the site and analyzed today," the agency said in a statement posted on its website. "This evidence, together with newly refined satellite data available to FAA this morning, led to this decision.

"The grounding will remain in effect pending further investigation, including examination of information from the aircraft’s flight data recorders and cockpit voice recorders. An FAA team is in Ethiopia assisting the NTSB as parties to the investigation of the Flight 302 accident. The agency will continue to investigate."

Trump said that any airplanes that were in the air when he issued the order were to stay put after they landed.

The FAA has not yet updated it's position.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.whitehouse.gov