HEJERE, ETHIOPIA - Canada joined much of the world in barring the Boeing 737 Max 8 jet from its airspace on Wednesday, saying satellite tracking data show possible but unproven similarities between the Ethiopian Airliner crash that killed 157 people and a previous crash involving the model five months ago. The decision left the U.S. as one of the few remaining countries to allow the planes to keep flying. Canadian Transport Minister Marc Garneau said a comparison of vertical fluctuations found a "similar profile" to the Lion Air crash that killed 187 people in October. Garneau emphasized that the data are not conclusive but crossed a threshold that prompted Canada to bar the Max 8. He said the new information indicated the Ethiopian Airliner jet's automatic system kicked in to force the nose of the aircraft down after computer software determined it was too high.

But U.S. officials have stood by their decision to keep the Boeing aircraft operating. The Federal Aviation Administration released a statement Tuesday that reaffirmed officials' trust in the safety of the jet, saying the aviation authority hasn't found any issues that would trigger an immediate grounding of the aircraft. The statement was released following a Dallas Morning News report that claimed pilots previously alerted U.S. officials about concerns regarding the model's autopilot system. In a separate report, the Times said Boeing's chief executive also personally called President Donald Trump to express his confidence in the jets.