Boeing Max; Trump does the right thing

AROUND THE BLOCK

I learned today…

I learned today that Donald J. Trump finally did the right thing. 

Earlier today, Canada joined more than 40 countries in grounding the Boeing 737 Max citing “newly available satellite-tracking data suggests similarities between the deadly crash involving one of the jets in Ethiopia on Sunday and another accident last October in Indonesia.”

According to the New York Times, Marc Garneau, Canada’s transport minister and a former astronaut and engineer, said that there were similarities that “exceed a certain threshold in our minds with respect to the possible cause of what happened in Ethiopia. This is not conclusive, but it is something that points possibly in that direction, and at this point we feel that threshold has been crossed.”

Based on that reporting, I began writing a criticism of the U.S. FAA and it's feet dragging on grounding the jet as well:

The United States has not grounded the Boeing jetliner, the fastest selling airplane in its history and a huge contributor to both Boeing’s reputation and profitability and U.S. trade. Boeing is the nation’s largest single exporter.

In the U.S. the F.A.A. has cautioned against drawing too many similarities between the crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia before the investigation is completed. It could still be weeks before investigators are able to point to the likely cause of the latest crash. 

 So, despite the fact that 42 countries have banned the airplane and Canada, our closest ally and neighbor feels that a “threshold has been reached” regarding the Max, the U.S. seemingly has thrown caution to the wind by continuing to fly a possibly fatally flawed airplane while it takes weeks to investigate the reasons for two similar crashes of the plane in the last four months. 

 Is this a case of commerce trumping safety? 

 With a president constantly and consistently railing about our trade deficit and how we’re being taken advantage of by the rest or the world, could it be that a little bit of pressure has been put on the FAA to delay joining the rest of the world in taking a prudent, cautious approach while the investigation is on-going? 

 I don’t know. Nor do I know if the plane is safe or not. Time will tell on that one. But while we’re waiting for time to tell, wouldn’t you want your government to do whatever it can to keep you save? 

 I guess this is simply another example of American Exceptionalism!

And then, just as I was going to press "publish," the Times reported, "President Trump announced that the United States was grounding Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft, reversing an earlier decision by American regulators to keep the jets flying in the wake of a second deadly crash involving one of the jets in Ethiopia," saying, “The safety of the American people, of all people, is our paramount concern,” Mr. Trump said.

I apologize, Mr. Trump, for my cynicism. And, thank you for doing the right thing.