Japan bans Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 aircrafts

Japan grounded all flight operations of Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 aircraft from its airspace, the Transport Ministry informed on Thursday.

The Japan Times quoted the Transport Ministry as saying that the Japanese airlines themselves do not use the Boeing aircraft while other foreign airlines have also stopped using the aircraft for conducting flights operations to and from Japan.

Japan's decision came after the United States on Wednesday announced to ground Boeing's 737 Max planes, reversing an earlier decision by authorities to keep the aircraft flying, in the wake of a deadly crash involving one of its jets in Ethiopia, which killed all 157 people on board.

Almost 40 countries, including Canada, India, China and Ethiopia, have banned the operations of Boeing 737 Max aircraft amid intense pressure about its safety concerns.

An aircraft of the same make was also involved in the Lion Airlines plane crash in the Java Sea near Jakarta, Indonesia last year. Here too, the aircraft crashed a few minutes after taking off, claiming the lives of all 189 people on board.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) earlier this week said that it will order Boeing to redesign safety software on the plane that erroneously pushed the nose down repeatedly.

The FAA further noted that it is closely monitoring the situation in Ethiopia and the Max 8 aircraft in general.

In a statement, FAA said, "The FAA continuously assesses and oversees the safety performance of U.S. commercial aircraft", adding, "If we identify an issue that affects safety, the FAA will take immediate and appropriate action."

Investigation of the cockpit voice recorder of the crashed airline revealed that one of two pilots on the ill-fated flight number 302 had reported "flight-control problems" to air traffic controllers minutes after the plane crashed after taking off from Addis Ababa.

The pilot told the controllers that he wanted to turn back to the Addis Ababa airport, which he was cleared to do so, three minutes before contact was lost with the cockpit, a spokesperson for the Ethiopian Airlines said.