It is the latest country to jump on the bandwagon to ground Boeing 737 Max planes, after the same type aircraft, operated by Ethiopia Airlines crashed on Sunday, killing all 157 people on board, six minutes after takeoff.
The incident in Ethiopia came less than five months after a similar type of plane, crashed into the Java Sea, killing 189 passengers and crew just 12 minutes after takeoff from the Jakarta airport in Indonesia. The two fatal incidents prompted a global outcry over safety concerns regarding the narrow-body new Boeing series planes that entered services in 2017.
The Namibian Civil Aviation Authority said it took the decision to ground Boeing 737 on the grounds of safety for passengers.
“We have decided to take precautionary measures to ban the arrival or departure of any Boeing 737 Max 8 series from Namibian airports at this time,” says Angelina Simana, the Acting executive director of the civil aviation authority.
UK, European Union members, China and Ethiopia are some of the countries banning the aircraft in the wake of Sunday’s disaster.