Boeing to stop production of 737 Max planes after two crashes killed 346 people
BOEING has said it will temporarily stop production of its grounded 737 Max planes after crashes in which 346 people were killed.
The Chicago-based company continues to seek approval from regulators to put the planes back in the air, and will halt production at its plant in Renton, Washington in January.
The plant currently employs 12,000 people, although Boeing said it did not expect to make any layoffs "at the time".
The Max is Boeing's most important jet, but was grounded by aviation authorities around the world after crashes in October 2018 and March 2019.
The first, a Lion Air flight between the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Pangkal Pinang, came down in the Java Sea 13 minutes after taking off, killing all 189 people on board.
The plane was reported to have undergone repair work the night before, and the its pilot had reported "technical difficulties" and asked air traffic control to return to the airport within minutes of departing.
The second, an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to Nairobi, Kenya, crashed near the town of Bishoftu just six minutes after taking off, killing all 157 people on board.
In recordings from the cockpit, one pilot could be heard saying "pitch up, pitch up!" before their radio suddenly died.
BOEING'S TIMETABLE 'NOT REALISTIC'
The Federal Aviation Administration, the government regulator for civil aviation in the US, last week warned Boeing that its schedule for returning the 737 Max to service was "not realistic".
Boeing had said in November that it expected to restart commercial service this January.
In a released on Monday, Boeing said: "We know that the process of approving the 737 MAX's return to service, and of determining appropriate training requirements, must be extraordinarily thorough and robust, to ensure that our regulators, customers, and the flying public have confidence in the 737 MAX updates.
"Throughout the grounding of the 737 MAX, Boeing has continued to build new airplanes and there are now approximately 400 airplanes in storage.
"We have decided to prioritize the delivery of stored aircraft and temporarily suspend production on the 737 program beginning next month.
"We believe this decision is least disruptive to maintaining long-term production system and supply chain health."
The company's stock came under pressure on Monday after the Wall Street Journal reported on the possibility of a Max production halt.
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It closed Monday down more than 14 US dollars, or 4.3 percent, at 327 US dollars.
The stock has fallen 23 percent since the crash in March.
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