Shortly before the U.S. grounded all Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 planes, a Broward county official tried to ban the planes from landing landing at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
That kind of ban would have been the first at a U.S. airport. On Wednesday afternoon, the U.S. grounded all Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 aircraft following the fatal plane crash in Ethiopia last week.
Calls to ground the Max 8 were growing as the investigation continues into an Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed 157 people, the second fatal crash involving that particular aircraft in just over five months.
Southwest is the only airline to fly that aircraft out of the Fort Lauderdale airport.
“My interest is to protect the public until we can find the cause of these crashes and problems with the aircraft. If we can’t legally stop the aircraft from landing here in Fort Lauderdale, then I’ve asked the County Attorney to amend our contracts with airlines flying the jet and I want warning signs placed at terminal gates so passengers will know they’re boarding this type of aircraft,” Mayor Mark Bogen said in a news release.
The release said Bogen was placing the item on Tuesday’s agenda for the commission to discuss and vote on. The next scheduled county meeting is Thursday, March 28. The commission could hold a special meeting but has not scheduled one yet.
It’s unclear if the commission or the airport could ban the planes. That’s usually a decision made by the Federal Aviation Administration or the airline.
The FAA continues to back the plane’s airworthiness, saying Tuesday that it is reviewing all available data. U.S.-based Boeing maintains it has no reason to pull the hot-selling jet from the skies.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.