Boeing 737 Max planes turn back in MID-AIR as jets banned from all European air space over safety fears after Ethiopian Airlines crash
BOEING 737 Max 8 aircraft bound for Britain turned back in mid-air today - as the aircraft were banned from air space across the whole EU.
The UK's Civil Aviation Authority grounded all Max jets from 1pm over safety fears and then Europe's EASA agency followed with a continent-wide ban from 7pm.
One plane was on its way to Gatwick and the other to Birmingham when they were seen heading back.
Last night Sarah Tor, who was on the Turkish Airlines flight due to land at Birmingham but diverted back to Istanbul, revealed how the jet was changed at the last minute.
She said: "I speak Turkish and I overheard at the gate before we took off that they'd changed our plane last minute to this new Boeing.
"I'm a nervous flyer myself but when I saw that it was the new 737-800 max alarm bells were ringing.
"Everything was fine until about 2.5 hours in and I noticed the plane was turning.
"I looked at the map on the screen and saw it was showing we were going back — I thought there was a problem with the screen first but then the captain announced we were turning back because weather conditions.
"It was only when we landed back in Istanbul everyone found out it was due to the planes being grounded. I’m hoping to get back on Wednesday now.";
The CAA said Turkish Airlines turned its planes back so they wouldn't get stuck in the UK, unable to take off again after a safety directive.
The airline itself said it was grounding its entire fleet "until the uncertainty affecting safety is cleared" and flights across Europe turned back.
Flightradar24 showed one of its flights on its way to Tel Aviv turning around and heading back to Stockholm while over Romania.
France, Germany, Austria, Italy and Ireland today became the latest countries to ban the planes from the air.
This will require a flight number to find out which plane or planes are typically used on a certain route.
Alternatively, use the plane's registration number to look up details, including the type of plane and how old it is, on a public database run by a civil aviation body.
In the UK, this means checking the Civil Aviation Authority's
Following the Indonesia crash, questions were raised over the safety of the planes after investigators said there were problems with its airspeed indicator and angle of attack (AoA) sensors.
This led to fears the jets could have a fault that causes them to nose-dive.
A warning was sent to operators about the sensor problem after it emerged the Lion air flight suffered issues the day before the crash.
But the US Federal Aviation Administration has told airlines it believes Boeing's 737 Max 8 model to be airworthy.
BEST-SELLING JET
A latest version of the best-selling commercial jet in history, the Boeing 737 Max 8 is operated by scores of airlines around the world - including in the UK.
There are currently 350 in service with airlines around the world - but thousands more are on order.
The model is one of four varieties of 737 Max aircraft produced by the US aerospace giant.
Boeing says it has taken more than 4,700 orders for the single-aisle family of planes which can carry up to 230 passengers.
In Britain, holiday operator Tui Airways has ordered 32 Max aircraft as part of a major fleet overhaul and took delivery of its first Max 8 in December.
Airlines that have grounded the jet
Norwegian
TUI
Shenzhen Airlines
China Eastern Airlines
Air China
China Southern
Hainan Airlines
Shanghai Airlines
Xiamen Airlines
Shandong Airlines
Okay Airways
Kunming Airlines
Ethiopian Airlines
Cayman Airways
Garuda Indonesia
Lion Air
Comair
Gol Airways
Aeromexico
Aerolineas Argentinas
SilkAir
Tui was the first UK-registered airline to receive one of the new Boeing aircraft and planned to roll out its orders over the next five years.
Based at Manchester Airport, the planes are due to ferry passengers to a range of holiday destinations from the north-west.
The carrier's German parent company is reported to have bought 54 Max 8s.
Other airlines in Europe to use the Max aircraft include Air Italy, Lot Polish Airlines and Norwegian.
HOW THE HORROR UNFOLDED
The flight came down just after departing Addis Ababa carrying 149 passengers from 35 countries and eight crew members.
Among those who died were nine British citizens, eight Americans and Italians, 32 Kenyans, nine Ethiopians, eight Chinese, seven French, 18 Canadians, one Irish, six Egyptians, five from the Netherlands, and four from India and Slovakia.
The pilot, who had an "excellent flying record", had reported difficulties and asked to turn back, adding the plane had "no known technical problems".
Senior captain Yared Getachew had a "commendable performance" having completed more than 8,000 hours in the air, an Ethiopian Airlines spokesman said.
The plane had flown from Johannesburg to Addis earlier on Sunday morning, undergoing "rigorous" testing on February 4, the airline said.
A horrified witness said it swerved and dipped and was belching smoke from the rear before it crashed.
He also said the Boeing 737 Max 8 was making a strange noise before hitting the ground with a "large boom" and a shower of flaming luggage.
Crash investigators yesterday recovered the black box flight recorder from a crater the size of a basketball court.
The harrowing final seconds of flight ET302 were revealed by flight radar data, which showed it repeatedly climbed, fell and climbed again soon after takeoff
Aviation experts said this "unstable vertical speed" is extremely unusual and planes usually climb steadily.
Crash investigators from the US National Transportation Safety Board will arrive today to help piece together what went wrong, the US ambassador to Ethiopia said.
Where were the victims from?
The Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed today was carrying passengers from more than 30 countries, the airline's CEO told journalists.
He said they included 32 Kenyans, 18 Canadians, nine Ethiopians, eight Italians, eight Chinese citizens, eight Americans, nine British citizens, seven French citizens, six Egyptians, five Dutch citizens, four Indians, four people from Slovakia, three Austrians, three Swedes, three Russians, two Moroccans, two Spaniards, two Poles and two Israelis.
Belgium, Ireland Indonesia, Somalia, Norway, Serbia, Togo, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sudan, Uganda and Yemen each had one citizen onboard.
Four of those onboard were listed as using United Nations passports and their nationalities were not immediately clear.
It had been reported seven Brits were among the dead but last night two more were added to the toll.
Victims include UN worker Joanna Toole, 36, from Exmouth, Devon, aid worker Sam Pegram, 25, from Penwortham, Lancs, Plymouth uni graduate Sarah Auffret, who also had French nationality, probation worker Joseph Waithaka, 55, of Hull, and Somali-born mum and son Sarah Hassan Said and Nasrudin Abdulkadir. UN engineer Michael Ryan, of Cork, Ireland, was also among the dead.
The state-owned Ethiopian Airlines calls itself Africa's largest carrier and has ambitions of becoming the gateway to the continent.
Its last major crash was in January 2010, when a flight from Beirut went down shortly after take-off.
WHO ARE THE VICTIMS?
The British death toll was today revised from seven to at least nine.
The Foreign Office said: "Our staff at the British Embassy in Addis Ababa are continuing to work with the relevant authorities in Ethiopia to obtain further information.
"We extend our deepest condolences to all those who have lost loved ones and those affected by this tragic event."
Among the British victims are Sam Pegram, 25, from Penwortham, Lancashire, who worked for the Norwegian Refugee Council and was on his way to Nairobi.
Many of the 149 passengers were heading to a United Nations environment conference in Nairobi, including animal expert Joanna Toole, 36, from Devon.
Polar tourism expert Sarah Auffret, who had dual British and French nationality, and dad Joseph Waithaka, 55, from Hull, also died.
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