UPDATE: Transport Minister Marc Garneau announced on Wednesday March 13th Canada is grounding the Boeing 737 Max 8 based on new information arriving this morning
Earlier version posted March 12:
Canadian Transport Minister Marc Garneau says the government currently has no plans to ground any Boeing 737 Max 8 planes.
During an interview Tuesday morning, Garneau said “all options are on the table” with regard to the country’s fleet of Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft.
The United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Ireland have all announced they were grounding or closing airspace to the new Boeing aircrafts involved in Sunday’s deadly Ethiopian Airlines crash.
Similar moves were made by Australia, Singapore, Ethiopia, Indonesia and China.
“My thoughts are with all those affected by yesterday’s tragic accident involving an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft. We are deploying all of our efforts to discover the cause of this accident,” said Garneau in a post on Twitter.
The crash claimed the lives of all 157 people on board including 18 Canadians. The disaster has raised concerns over similarities to a Lion Air crash of the same model of aircraft in Indonesia last October.
“Given this is a United States certified aircraft, Transport Canada officials are actively in contact with the Federal Aviation Administration to determine the cause and required action. I am also in contact with my American counterpart, Secretary Chao’s office,” said Garneau.
He added he has canceled all of his meetings and public events Tuesday in order to meet with a Civil Aviation Expert Panel. “All evidence is being evaluated in real time and we’re considering all potential actions,” he said.
