France receives black boxes from crashed Boeing 737 MAX 8

The analysis is expected to help figure out why the Ethiopian Airlines aircraft plunged to the ground minutes after take-off last week, killing all 157 people on board.

Men unload a case, containing the black boxes from the crashed Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8, outside the headquarters of France's BEA air accident investigation agency in Le Bourget, north of Paris, France. March 14, 2019.
Reuters

Men unload a case, containing the black boxes from the crashed Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8, outside the headquarters of France's BEA air accident investigation agency in Le Bourget, north of Paris, France. March 14, 2019.

French investigators have received the black boxes from the Boeing 737 MAX 8 that crashed east of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, killing all 157 people on board, France's BEA airline safety agency said on Thursday.

Ethiopian authorities had requested French help to analyse the content of the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder to discover what caused the Ethiopian Airlines flight to plunge to the ground just minutes after take-off on Sunday.

BEA also released a picture of the doomed Ethiopian Airlines jet's flight data recorder, which appeared to show the crash-proof housing protecting the critical recording chip intact.

The recorder –– one of two 'black boxes' whose data investigators will analyse to determine what caused the crash – appears damaged at one side.

Investigators will also analyse the cockpit voice recorder from the jet which should have picked up the conversations between the pilots and between the pilots and air traffic controllers.

Boeing to suspend fleet of 737 MAX

Boeing confirmed it will suspend operations of its entire fleet of 737 MAX aircraft.

In a statement posted on Twitter, the US company said after consultation with the Federal Aviation Authority, National Transport Safety Board and its customers, it supports action to temporarily ground its 737 MAX fleet.

A growing number of airlines and countries around the world continue to ground Boeing 737 MAX jets or ban them from their airspace following the Ethiopian Airlines crash.

Five months ago, the same aircraft flown by Indonesia's Lion Air plunged into the ocean, killing all 189 on board.

Countries that banned the model from flying in its airspace:

Tunisia

Japan

Colombia

Mexico

Panama

Brazil

United States

Canada

Iraq

Nigeria

Turkey

Egypt

Lebanon

Kosovo

Hong Kong

Kazakhstan

Fiji

Vietnam

New Zealand

United Arab Emirates

Kuwait

Australia

China

All European Union countries

India

Indonesia

Malaysia

Namibia

Oman

Singapore 

Airlines that grounded the model:

Fiji Airways

flydubai

Aerolineas Argentinas

Aeromexico

Cayman Airways

Comair

Eastar Jet

Ethiopian Airlines

Gol Airlines

Icelandair

LOT

MIAT Mongolian Airlines

Norwegian Air Shuttle

Smartwings

Turkish Airlines

Emirates

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