China orders local airlines to ground Boeing 737 Max 8 planes after Ethiopian Airlines crash

China’s civilian aviation authority has ordered all Chinese airlines to temporarily ground their Boeing 737 Max 8 planes after one of the aircraft crashed in Ethiopia. The Civil Aviation Administration of China said the order was issued at 9 a.m. Beijing time Monday and would last nine hours.

It said the order was taken out of safety concerns because the crash was the second after another of the planes fell into the ocean off the coast of Indonesia in similar circumstances on Dec. 29, killing all aboard.

It said further notice would be issued after consultation with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing on safety measures taken.

Eight Chinese nationals were among the 157 people aboard the plane when it crashed Sunday shortly after takeoff.

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