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Regulatory decision heard around the world: CAAC grounds MAX
March 22nd 2019
The CAAC’s early grounding decision came ahead of the sensitive “Two Sessions”. Read More »
The established order of aviation regulators has been changed in the wake of the Ethiopian Airlines crash and subsequent grounding of the 737 MAX. While there is much focus on the US FAA being the last agency to ground the type, there is also interest in China’s CAAC being the first to ground the aircraft.
Some observers suggest caution in over-reading the CAAC’s action. The CAAC’s early grounding has been explained as the regulator being extremely concerned about any incident, and having the largest operating pool of 737 MAXs.
Yet the CAAC was also likely conditioned from timing since the Ethiopian crash occurred just before Beijing’s “Two Sessions”. Authorities across all areas are on heightened alert ahead of major political events to ensure there is no disruption or over-shadowing, intentional or not.
The CAAC’s early grounding caught peers off-guard, not used to a non-FAA or EASA authority making such bold regulations. Resulting headlines and public interest generated pressure for other countries to ground the MAX before there were early indications of similarities with last year’s Lion Air 737 MAX crash.
Fiji Airways and its regulator indicated the populist element, saying the grounding was “out of deference to the position taken by regulators in our region, and in response to the concerns expressed by the general public”.
The FAA grounding was announced by US President Trump, an action in itself many disagreed with since what should have been an independent regulatory decision was being made political. Nonetheless, Trump said in explaining the grounding: “I didn't want to take any chances. We didn't have to make this decision today. We could have delayed it. We maybe didn't have to make it at all. But I felt it was important both psychologically and in a lot of other ways.”
Within East Asia and the Pacific, regulators gradually grounded the type. Of countries with local MAX operators, China, Indonesia and Mongolia grounded the type on Monday while Korea did not ground the type until Tuesday and Thailand on Wednesday. Jurisdictions without local MAX operators started prohibiting the type on Tuesday. Taiwan and Japan did not formally prohibit the MAX until Friday, but by this point airlines flying the MAX had already had the type grounded by their local regulator.
The CAAC’s grounding was formally announced on the Monday after the Ethiopian crash. It gave airlines until Monday evening to end MAX operations, but airlines late on Sunday were made of aware of the forthcoming grounding and immediately started subsituting aircraft. Their work was evident: Monday 6am MAX flights were changed to 737 NGs.
The MAX incident was arguably the first time for the CAAC to exert itself in such a major way. The last time an aircraft type was grounded was the 787 in January 2013. The CAAC did not have a role then as it did not have any local 787s. The first 787 delivery to a Chinese airline was to China Southern in June 2013. India grounded A320neos powered by Pratt & Whitney engines, but no other regulator has followed suit. The 787 and A320neo were in serious incidents but unlike the MAX, without crashes or fatalities.
Timeline of 737 MAX groundings in East Asia and Australia/New Zealand
Source: Orient Aviation
