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8 Americans Die In Plane Crash That Has China Grounding Planes

REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri

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Neetu Arnold Contributor
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China and other countries are grounding planes following a crash that killed 157 people, including eight Americans, Sunday.

Boeing’s stock went down by approximately 7 percent Monday as aviation officials in China, Indonesia and Ethiopia ordered Boeing 737 Max 8 planes to remain on the ground, The Associated Press reported.

The Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed shortly after taking off from the Bole airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Sunday morning. More than 30 nationalities were represented in the death toll including China, according to Fox News.

Indonesia grounded 11 737 Max 8s, Ethiopia grounded its remaining four airliners and Cayman Airways temporarily halted two of its Max 8s, according to The AP. China asked all of its 737 Max 8s to remain on the ground.

The Chinese government says carriers and leasing companies operate 96 Boeing 737 Max 8s.

Gregory Martin of the Federal Aviation Administration, however, said to The Daily Caller News Foundation over email that China has around 40 Boeing Max planes that are in service. (RELATED: Nearly 190 People Feared Dead After Indonesian Plane Crashes Into The Sea)

“As of the end of February, approx. [approximately] 350 737 MAX series aircraft are in service with 54 operators around the world,” Martin said. “Of those aircraft, approx. 40 are in China.”

China is a major market for Boeing, an aircraft manufacturing company, according to CNN.

The Max 8 has at most approximately 200 seats, according to Boeing’s website.

Investigators are looking into the Ethiopian flight’s black box, or flight recorder, which they found damaged. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University professor William Waldock said the plane’s nosedive might cause suspicion, The AP reported.

“Investigators are not big believers in coincidence,” Waldock said.

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