By Jialun Wang Last Sunday, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed and killed all 157 passengers and crew members on board, marking the second time in five months that the new Boeing 737 MAX jet has crashed. In October, Lion Air Flight 610 in Indonesia also crashed, killing all 189 passengers on board. In October’s crash, the pilots struggled with an automated feature that was designed to keep the plane from stalling. While the causes of this recent crash are unknown, it has been reported that the pilots experienced “flight-control problems” just minutes before the accident. These reports raise concerns that pilots are having difficulty handling the plane’s computerized flight control system. Back in November, two US pilots flying the same model expressed their concerns with the plane’s autopilot feature. “I reviewed in my mind our automation setup and flight profile but can’t think of any reason the aircraft would pitch nose down so aggressively,” the pilot wrote. Amid the recent accidents, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency announced that it will suspend all operations with the Boeing 737 MAX jet. This measure follows the United Kingdom, China, Singapore, Australia, and other countries in banning or suspending the jet in their airspace. In total, around two-thirds of all Boeing 737 MAX jets have been grounded. Despite the concerns, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a statement saying that it will not ground these jets. "The FAA continues to review extensively all available data and aggregate safety performance from operators and pilots of the Boeing 737 MAX," the statement reads. "Thus far, our review shows no systemic performance issues and provides no basis to order grounding the aircraft. Nor have other civil aviation authorities provided data to us that would warrant action." The FAA’s decision has faced backlash from Capitol Hill. Republican senators Ted Cruz and Mitt Romney have stated their support in grounding the model. Democrat senators Edward Markey and Richard Blumenthal have written to the FAA asking that the Boeing 737 MAX be grounded "until the agency can conclusively determine that the aircraft can be operated safely." The Allied Pilots Association has also called the FAA to ground the Boeing 737 MAX. Sources:https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47548083https://www.npr.org/2019/03/12/702797446/u-s-lawmakers-call-to-ground-the-boeing-737-max-8-faa-says-no-for-nowhttps://www.npr.org/2019/03/12/702568990/dozens-of-countries-ground-boeings-737-max-8-following-deadly-crash-in-ethiopiahttps://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/13/world/africa/boeing-ethiopian-airlines-plane-crash.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FBoeing%20Company&action=click&contentCollection=business&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=collectionhttps://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/03/world/asia/lion-air-plane-crash-pilots.html?login=email&auth=login-emailhttps://www.politico.com/story/2019/03/12/pilots-boeing-737-1266090