BROWARD COUNTY, FL - Broward County Mayor Mark Bogen wants to ban all Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft from landing at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport, one the fastest growing airports in the U.S., after two international crashes involving the jet and undisclosed complaints from American pilots who say they’ve reported similar problems that were never disclosed to the public.
“My interest is to protect the public until we can find the cause of these crashes and problems with aircraft. If we can’t legally stop the aircraft from landing here in Fort Lauderdale, then I’ve asked the County Attorney to amend our contracts with airlines flying the jet and I want warning signs placed at terminal gates so passengers will know they’re boarding this type of aircraft,” said the Mayor.
Mayor Bogen is placing an item on the Thursday, March 28th agenda for discussion and a vote by the nine- member Board of County Commissioners.
NASA records show that two U.S. pilots separately reported that they suspected automated controls in their Boeing 737 MAX planes were faulty. Both pilots said the planes suddenly tilted mid-flight.
American pilots have also expressed concern about the problems associated with the automated performance of the Boeing 737 Max 8. Published reports say that FAA records show that authorities received at least 11 reports concerning the Boeing 737 MAX 8 from professional aviators logged between April 2018 and December 2018.
“That fact that U.S. pilots have reported problems with the Max 8 and that the public wasn’t warned about it is alarming to me,” said Bogen. “More than three hundred people have died in the past six months on these planes. I don’t want them here until they’re proven safe.”
There is a global ban on the Max 8 aircraft, with more than 40 countries grounding the aircraft after the crash in Ethiopia.
Currently, Southwest Airlines is the only airline that flies the Boeing 737 Max 8 out of Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport.
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa on Sunday, killing all 157 people on board. It came less than five months after a Lion Air Boeing 737 Max 8 went down in Indonesia last October — none of the 157 people on board survived.
The FAA has said the planes are still airworthy and has not grounded jets operating here in the United States. There are more than 370 Boeing 737 Max planes flying worldwide, 74 within the United States, the FAA said.
DATE: March 13, 2019
MEDIA CONTACT: Kimberly Maroe
Broward County Commission Public Information Manager
EMAIL: kmaroe@broward.org
(954) 357-8053
(954) 232-4510 Cell