Politics
Boeing jet grounded in much of world after Ethiopia crash
HEJERE, Ethiopia (AP) — Much of the world, including the entire European Union, grounded the Boeing jetliner involved in the Ethiopian Airlines crash or banned it from their airspace, leaving the United States as one of the few remaining operators of the plane involved in two deadly accidents in just five months.
The European Aviation Safety Agency took steps to keep the Boeing 737 Max 8 out of the air, joining Asian and Middle Eastern governments and carriers that also gave in to safety concerns in the aftermath of Sunday’s crash, which killed all 157 people on board.
Referring to the Lion Air crash in Indonesia that killed 189 people last year, European regulators said Tuesday that “similar causes may have contributed to both events.”
British regulators indicated possible trouble with a reportedly damaged flight data recorder, saying they based their decision on the fact that they did not have “sufficient information” from the recorder.
Officials from the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) pray next to an offering of fruit, bread rolls, and a plastic container of Ethiopian Injera, a fermented sourdough flatbread, placed next to incense sticks, at the scene where the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed shortly after takeoff on Sunday killing all 157 on board, near Bishoftu, or Debre Zeit, south of Addis Ababa, in Ethiopia Tuesday, March 12, 2019. Ethiopian Airlines had issued no new updates on the crash as of late afternoon Tuesday as families around the world waited for answers, while a global team of investigators began picking through the rural crash site. (AP Photo/Mulugeta Ayene)
A Turkish Airlines official said two Britain-bound planes returned to Istanbul after British airspace was closed to the aircraft. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
U.S.-based Boeing has said it has no reason to pull the popular aircraft from the skies and does not intend to issue new recommendations about the aircraft to customers. Boeing’s CEO Dennis Muilenburg also spoke with President Donald Trump and reiterated that the 737 Max 8 is safe, the company said. Its technical team, meanwhile, joined American, Israeli, Kenyan and other aviation experts in the investigation led by Ethiopian authorities.
The Federal Aviation Administration also backed the jet’s airworthiness and said it was reviewing all available data. It said it expects Boeing will soon complete improvements to an automated anti-stall system suspected of contributing to the deadly crash of another new Boeing 737 Max 8 in October.
Foreign investigators examine wreckage at the scene where the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed shortly after takeoff on Sunday killing all 157 on board, near Bishoftu, or Debre Zeit, south of Addis Ababa, in Ethiopia Tuesday, March 12, 2019. Ethiopian Airlines had issued no new updates on the crash as of late afternoon Tuesday as families around the world waited for answers, while a global team of investigators began picking through the rural crash site. (AP Photo/Mulugeta Ayene)
“Thus far, our review shows no systemic performance issues and provides no basis to order grounding the aircraft,” acting FAA Administrator Daniel K. Elwell said in a statement. “Nor have other civil aviation authorities provided data to us that would warrant action.”
Some U.S. airlines expressed support for the Boeing model, and American Airlines and Southwest continued flying them. A vice president for American, the world’s biggest carrier, which has 24 Max 8s, said they had “full confidence in the aircraft.”
Safety experts cautioned against drawing too many comparisons too soon with the Lion Air crash in October. But others in the U.S. began pressing for action.
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents more than 26,000 flight attendants at American Airlines, called on CEO Doug Parker to “strongly consider grounding these planes until an investigation can be performed.”
Consumer Reports called on airlines and the FAA to ground the jets until a thorough safety investigation is complete.
Even Trump weighed in, tweeting that additional “complexity creates danger” in modern aircraft and hinders pilots from making “split second decisions” to ensure passengers’ safety.
He did not specifically mention the crashes but said, “I don’t know about you, but I don’t want Albert Einstein to be my pilot.”
The Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed six minutes after taking off for Nairobi, killing people from 35 countries.
A pilot who saw the crash site minutes after the disaster told the AP that the plane appeared to have “slid directly into the ground.” Capt. Solomon Gizaw was among the first people dispatched to find the plane. The wreckage was discovered by Ethiopia’s air force.
“There was nothing to see,” he said. “It looked like the earth had swallowed the aircraft. … We were surprised!” He said it explained why rescue officials quickly sent bulldozers to begin digging out large pieces of debris.
Ethiopian Airlines, widely seen as Africa’s best-managed airline, grounded its remaining four 737 Max 8s until further notice. The carrier had been using five of the planes and was awaiting delivery of 25 more.
As night fell, the airline offered no new updates on the investigation. An airline spokesman said victims’ remains should be identified in about five days.
Some insights into the disaster and its cause could take months, aviation experts said.
“The conclusions that will come out of its probe will be beneficial to the rest of the world,” Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said Tuesday at a news conference with visiting French President Emmanuel Macron. “These types of accidents break everyone’s heart. I hope we will learn from this crash.”
On Tuesday a group of officials from China, which also grounded planes, paused in their work at the scene to reflect with an offering of incense, fruit, bread rolls and a plastic container of the Ethiopian flatbread injera.
As the global team searched for answers, a woman stood near the crash site, wailing. Kebebew Legess said she was the mother of a young Ethiopian Airlines crew member among the dead.
“She would have been 25 years old but God would not allow her,” she wept. “My daughter, my little one.”
The British ambassador to Ethiopia, Alastair McPhail, visited the scene where at least nine of his countrymen died. “We owe it to the families to understand what happened,” he said.
Florida
Florida House Democratic Campaign Committee Chair Christine Hunschofsky Faces Lawsuits, Election Complaints
Who is next? Lawsuits and Florida election complaints put the incoming House Democratic leader’s oversight of political attacks, campaign spending and tactics against former Democratic lawmakers under scrutiny
ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN) — Incoming Florida House Democratic Leader Christine Hunschofsky, a former Parkland mayor is facing growing scrutiny over campaign tactics by the Florida House Democratic Campaign Committee, the party-affiliated committee she chairs, as former Democratic lawmakers challenge political attacks through lawsuits and Florida election complaints.
The disputes are placing increased scrutiny on Christine Hunschofsky, chair of the Florida House Democratic Campaign Committee, and Cassidy Whitaker, the committee’s caucus director for the 2026 election cycle.
The controversy goes beyond ordinary party infighting, with former Democratic lawmakers alleging that FHDCC used opposition research and campaign communications containing false or misleading information to attack members of its own party.
Those allegations raise questions about the committee’s research, approval process and campaign tactics — and whether House Democratic leaders can rebuild trust with lawmakers targeted by the same political organization they are expected to help lead.
Former Democratic lawmakers are now turning to the courts and Florida’s election complaint process to challenge FHDCC-linked campaign tactics, intensifying scrutiny of the committee’s leadership, spending, opposition research and oversight.
The lawsuits and complaints remain allegations. They do not establish that Hunschofsky, FHDCC or others violated the law.
But the controversy is no longer simply an internal Democratic campaign fight.
FHDCC Faces Real Legal Challenges
State Representative-Elect and former Democratic state Rep. James Bush III sued FHDCC and other defendants in Miami-Dade County over allegedly defamatory election communications.
Former Democratic state Rep. Daisy Morales has separately challenged campaign communications involving FHDCC through litigation in Orange County and Florida’s election complaint process.
The cases involve separate elections and allegations and must be decided on their individual evidence.
State Rep.-elect Daphne Campbell, a former state senator and former state representative, told Florida National News in a phone interview that she is considering filing a defamation lawsuit as well.
Together, however, they place FHDCC’s campaign practices under greater scrutiny and create a leadership test for Hunschofsky as she prepares to lead Florida House Democrats.
Hunschofsky’s Leadership Under Scrutiny
Hunschofsky’s position as chair does not automatically make her personally liable for every communication, expenditure or decision made by FHDCC.
But leadership brings accountability for how an organization operates.
Political attack campaigns require research, writing, production, vendors, financing and distribution. FHDCC’s internal structure determines how those activities are authorized and supervised.
That makes Hunschofsky’s authority, knowledge and oversight relevant as the committee responds to legal challenges involving its campaign activity.
The central issue is straightforward: What happened under the FHDCC banner, and what responsibility did its leadership have for it?.
Party Establishment vs. Voters’ Choice
The controversy also exposes a deeper tension between party leadership and voters who expect to choose representatives based on the priorities of their communities.
Political parties can recruit, endorse and financially support candidates.
Voters make the final choice.
Heavy intervention by a party organization in a Democratic primary can create the perception that party leaders are trying to make that choice for voters.
That can damage trust when voters believe local experience, constituent service and understanding of their community matter more than the preferences of party leadership.
Democrats Spending Money Fighting Democrats
The internal battles come as Florida Democrats face a larger electoral challenge.
Republicans hold substantial power in Tallahassee, while Democrats need financial resources to compete for legislative seats and statewide offices.
Money spent attacking Democrats in expensive Democratic primaries cannot simultaneously be spent challenging Republicans.
FHDCC has the right to participate in elections within the law. But intraparty battles followed by lawsuits and election complaints create a political question about whether those resources are advancing the committee’s broader mission of electing Democrats.
Minority Democrats and Party Trust
The disputes also involve former minority Democratic lawmakers.
Bush and Campbell are Black. Morales is Puerto Rican, Hispanic.
That does not establish racial or ethnic discrimination by Hunschofsky or FHDCC.
But former minority Democratic lawmakers turning to courts and election regulators over tactics associated with their own party creates a political challenge for Democrats, who depend heavily on Black and Hispanic voters.
Those voters have the same interest as every Florida voter in accurate campaign information, fair elections and political organizations that follow the rules.
A Political Standard That Should Apply to Both Parties
The controversy also creates an uncomfortable comparison for Democrats who have criticized President Donald Trump’s aggressive treatment of political opponents.
The lawsuits and election complaints do not establish that FHDCC copied Trump’s strategy or adopted a “Trump playbook.”
But they raise a broader question of consistency.
Democrats who demand accountability when Republicans exercise political power aggressively should be prepared to apply the same standards to organizations within their own party.
Republicans should do the same when allegations involve their side.
Fairness cannot depend on which party benefits.
From Political Fight to Legal Process
Negative campaigning and opposition research are legal and receive substantial First Amendment protection.
Political committees, however, remain subject to election laws, campaign-finance requirements and civil law.
A lawsuit does not prove defamation.
FHDCC’s separate argument that it cannot be sued.
An election complaint does not prove an election-law violation.
Neither automatically creates a criminal investigation.
If evidence ultimately supports potential criminal conduct, the appropriate law-enforcement agency or prosecutor — not political parties, candidates or news organizations — determines whether an investigation is warranted.
The principle protects everyone: allegations must be proven, due process must be respected and political influence should not shield proven violations.
Who Is Next?
The growing legal disputes leave FHDCC with a political problem extending beyond Bush, Morales and Campbell.
Who is next on the Florida House Democratic Campaign Committee’s target list?
No Democrat is entitled to immunity from legitimate political criticism simply because that candidate belongs to the party.
But candidates should be able to expect political organizations to play by the rules.
The same principle applies to Republicans.
Political organizations can fight hard, expose legitimate weaknesses and spend money advocating for their candidates.
They still have to follow the law.
Hunschofsky Faces a Leadership Test
Hunschofsky is not watching the controversy from outside the organization.
She chairs the Florida House Democratic Campaign Committee while preparing to lead Florida House Democrats, including minority Democratic lawmakers who were targeted by the committee’s campaign attacks.
The lawsuits and election complaints therefore put FHDCC’s governance, campaign strategy and financial oversight directly within the public debate surrounding her leadership.
The courts will determine the civil allegations before them. Election regulators will determine matters within their jurisdiction. If evidence independently supports potential criminal violations, law-enforcement authorities can determine whether an investigation is warranted.
For Hunschofsky, the leadership test is whether the committee she chairs can defend its campaign practices, account for its spending and maintain the trust of Democratic voters while the allegations move through Florida’s courts and election-enforcement system.
The lawsuits and election complaints remain allegations. They are not findings that Hunschofsky or FHDCC violated the law.
For Florida voters, the standard should be simple:
Play by the rules. Follow the evidence. Apply the law equally.
Florida National News is seeking comment from Hunschofsky and FHDCC regarding the lawsuits, election complaints, campaign spending and committee oversight. FNN will update this report with responses and significant developments.
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