The history of the Boeing 737 MAX passenger jet could be in jeopardy, with the CEO of Ethiopian Airlines saying his company might not fly the plane again.
Tewolde Gebremariam told NBC Nightly News in an interview slated to air Monday night that the carrier needs to be convinced that the jet, which was involved in two deadly crashes in recent months, is a safe airplane.
"If we fly them again, we'll be the last airline to fly them again," Gebremariam said.
"At this stage, I cannot fully say that the airplane will fly back on Ethiopian Airlines. It may if we are fully convinced and if we are able to convince our pilots, if we are ever to convince our traveling public."
Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 crashed in March shortly after taking off from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport in Ethiopia. All 157 passengers and crew were killed. Lion Air Flight 610 crashed into the Java Sea last October, killing 189 people.
Both incidents involved a 737 MAX jet, and it's been reported that a stall-prevention system may have caused both crashes. The 737 MAX was grounded worldwide after the Ethiopian Airlines crash.
"It takes a lot of efforts to convince everybody that the airplane is safe," Gebremariam said. "But beyond that, I think we have to convince ourselves and we want to do that."
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