The recent Ethiopian plane crash has startled and shocked the world. Especially since plane crashes, thankfully, are not common because all companies involved work tirelessly to ensure safe air travel, this news is alarming considering it is the second major plane crash in 5 months...and involved the same type of plane.
Obviously any time something like this happens it is scary and lots of people become worried about their next flight but these circumstances in particular are extremely alarming. Every single person aboard both planes died in both crashes and this is extremely tragic because I believe it indicates that something went so terribly wrong that the pilots lost control and could not attempt a more safe landing.
As someone who travels by plane a fair amount every year, I was shocked and terrified by every article I was reading from various news sources. I was reading about some system in the 737 Max planes that pilots weren't trained on and how the Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed 6 minutes after taking off which baffled me. I have so many questions and keep reading articles to try to learn as much as I can on these tragic events to see what exactly caused these to happen.
However, something I was not questioning was that every model of this plane should without a doubt be grounded until the investigation of these crashes was complete and the safety of the aircrafts was ensured. I was not happy that the United States did not immediately follow the Asian countries and later EU that decided this precaution was necessary. All US companies released statements that they were confident in the pilots' and machines' abilities but if the customers are not confident does that matter?
Flying is something that makes many people anxious because of that "what if" factor. With these recent crashes and the eerie similarities between the circumstances it seems very plausible that in fact it is something to do with these 737 Max models that caused these accidents.
Before they were finally grounded on Wednesday, I was worried about my dad who flies at least twice every week for his job and my boyfriend who was flying to come visit me at school and my mom who is coming to visit me later this month. I didn't want my loved ones potentially flying on something that no one knows for sure is completely safe yet. I didn't want there to be another incident before this precautionary measure was finally taken.
The safety of airlines' customers should always be their number one priority. Period. Flying these days is safer than driving in some ways and we are so lucky to have such advanced technology that can allow us this in our everyday lives but that doesn't mean that it is always perfect. Grounding the 737 Max planes should have been done across the globe immediately after the Ethiopian Airlines crash because ensuring the safety of thousands of flyers should always outweigh protecting American companies or anything else that may influence those in positions of power. If this simple action can prevent more lives lost it is worth it.
