As a result of the March 10 , 2019 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash and the Lion Air Flight 610 crash , which occurred five months prior to the Ethiopian crash , most airlines and countries began grounding the Boeing 737 MAX 8 ( and in many cases all MAX variants ) due to safety concerns , but the FAA declined to temporarily ground Boeing 737 Max 8s operating in the United States . On March 12 , the FAA said that its ongoing review shows " no systemic performance issues and provides no basis to order grounding the aircraft . " Some U.S. Senators called for the FAA to ground Boeing 737 MAX 8 until an investigation into the cause of the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 was complete . U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said that " If the FAA identifies an issue that affects safety , the department will take immediate and appropriate action . " On March 13 , President Donald Trump ordered all variants of the Boeing 737 MAX within U.S. territory to be grounded . Three major U.S. airlines -- Southwest , United , and American Airlines -- were affected by this decision
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302
Federal Aviation Administration