Irish Aviation Authority reassures on plane safety

Pádraig Hoare

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has said it has no concerns about the safety of Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft, following a crash in Indonesia that killed 189 people.

The Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee said it found evidence of faulty airspeed readings during the last four flights of the doomed Lion Air plane, which crashed into the Java Sea on October 29, minutes after takeoff.

The Indonesian safety body has called on the US National Transportation Safety Board and Boeing “to take necessary steps to prevent similar incidents, especially on the Boeing 737 Max, which number 200 aircraft all over the world”.

Ireland-registered Norwegian Air International, which flies from Cork, Dublin, and Shannon to the US, said last month that it has taken delivery of four Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, and 12 this year.

The narrow-body jets have been beset by delays. Boeing warned in August of delays in fuselages and engines from suppliers.

The world’s largest planemaker has delivered just under 220 of the 737 Max aircraft ordered by airlines, it has said.

Boeing has not commented on the comments from the Indonesian authorities following the fatal crash. However, the IAA said it had no fears over the safety of the aircraft, adding that Irish aviation standards were ranked among the best in the world.

A spokesman said: “We are fully aware of this incident, which remains under investigation by the appropriate civil aviation authorities in Indonesia.

As the authority responsible for the safety regulation of the civil aviation industry in Ireland, the IAA regulates Irish-registered airlines using the highest international standards as set out by the International Civil Aviation Organisation and the European Aviation Safety Agency

“In fact, Ireland is ranked amongst the best in the world for overall civil aviation safety oversight. In an annual International Civil Aviation Organisation and the European Aviation Safety Agency ranking process in 2017, Ireland ranked second in Europe and fifth in the world, ahead of countries such as the US, Germany and the Netherlands.”