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China and Indonesia ground Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes after Ethiopian Airlines crash

China has ordered all Boeing 737 MAX 8s in the country to be grounded by 6 p.m. local time.
File photo: Pall Jokull for Icelandair/The Brooklyn Brothers via Getty Images

Indonesia joined Ethiopian Airlines and China Monday morning in temporarily grounding all of its Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets.

The big picture: The action comes after Sunday's Ethiopian Airlines plane crash that killed 157 people. Indonesia has offered Ethiopia assistance in the crash investigation, the Associated Press reports. The same model Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashed in Indonesia in October. The causes of both crashes have yet to be determined.

QuoteGiven that two accidents both involved newly delivered Boeing 737-8 planes and happened during take-off phase, they have some degree of similarity"
— Civil Aviation Administration of China statement

Boeing's reaction: The American multinational corporation said in a statement it was sending a team to provide technical assistance at the crash site. "The investigation is in its early stages, but at this point, based on the information available, we do not have any basis to issue new guidance to operators,” a spokesperson for Boeing in China said in a statement, according to the FT. Boeing has postponed plans to launch its new 777X jetliner, which had been scheduled for this week, according to CNN.

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