WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump issued an emergency order Wednesday grounding all Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 aircraft in the wake of a crash of an Ethiopian airliner that killed 157 people.
The order came hours after Canada joined some 40 other countries in barring the Max 8 and 9 from its airspace.
Canada said satellite tracking data showed possible but unproved similarities between the Ethiopian Airlines crash and a previous crash of a 737 MAX 8 in Indonesia five months ago.
The US also grounded the larger version of the plane, the Max 9. That was hours after Thailand also ordered all three Max 9 aircraft flown by Thai Lion Air to be grounded.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand said on Wednesday it is suspending the use of the Boeing Co's 737 MAX 9 due to safety concerns.
The regulator said it will temporarily suspend the use of Thai Lion Air's Boeing 737 MAX 9s for seven days, starting on Thursday and will continue to investigate safety measures. Thai Lion Air's three MAX 9 jets will be affected.
Thailand is the last country in Asia where the jets are registered to issue a suspension.
