Making safety of the passengers a top priority , the US aerospace giant Boeing has reportedly said it was suspending deliveries of its top-selling 737 MAX 8 as French investigators took delivery of the black boxes from the Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed all 157 passengers and crew.

Post Ethiopian Airlines crash, according to media reports, Boeing’s shares have fallen 12 per cent in the days after the crash in Ethiopia, wiping out nearly USD 30 billion in value.

The MAX series is Boeing’s fastest-selling model, but it is still relatively new with fewer than 500 in service.

There are 74 registered in the United States and 387 in use worldwide with 59 carriers, according to the FAA.

The accounts of the recent crashes were echoed in concerns registered by US pilots on how the MAX 8 behaves.

The MAX has been grounded worldwide following the disaster the second involving the model in five months and the fallout has left the company, regulators and airlines scrambling to respond.

US authorities said new evidence showed similarities between the Ethiopia crash and that of a Lion Air flight in Indonesia in October that claimed the lives of 189 people.

“We are pausing the delivery of the 737 MAX until we come up with a solution,” a Boeing spokesman said Thursday, adding that “we are going to continue the production, but we are assessing our capacities.”

US President Donald Trump told reporters the “safety of the American people and all peoples is our paramount concern”.