Former FAA safety inspector urges caution over Boeing 737: ‘I’ve never, ever done this’

A former Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety inspector urged travelers to exercise caution over the Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft after a series of crashes.

“I’ve never, ever done this before,” David Soucie said on CNN’s “Newsroom” when asked if Americans should be concerned about riding the plane.

{mosads}”I’ve never said that, ‘Hey, it’s unsafe to fly a particular model’ but in this case, I’m going to have to go there. I just looked at the flight data of that aircraft: It’s strikingly similar, same issues we had with the Max Air. So yeah, I would watch for that airplane.”

“I’ve never, ever done this. I’ve never said that, ‘hey, it’s unsafe to fly a particular model’ but in this case, I’m going to have to go there… So yeah I would watch for that airplane,” – fmr. FAA Safety Inspector @David_Soucie on the Boeing 737 MAX 8. https://t.co/PgcNELgjxm pic.twitter.com/qGKSt4WCru

— CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) March 11, 2019

A Boeing 737 Max 8 in Ethiopia crashed shortly after takeoff Sunday, killing all 157 people on board.

It was the second time in recent months that a Boeing 737 Max 8 has been involved in a fatal crash. In October, the same model crashed in Indonesia, killing 189 people.

In response to these accidents, authorities in China, Indonesia and Ethiopia ordered the planes to be grounded Monday.

The American National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is sending a team to assist in the investigation of the Ethiopian Airlines flight, but the agency has not yet made a statement on whether it will recommend the U.S. halt the use of the aircraft.

A representative for the NTSB directed questions about Soucie’s remarks to the FAA.

In a statement to The Hill, the FAA said they are continuing to monitor the situation and said it would issue a “Continued Airworthiness Notification.”