Passengers uneasy after two deadly plane crashes involving identical aircraft

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - Truth be told most air travelers don't really think very much about what airplanes they're about to fly or have just flown.

"No idea. A big one. I don't even look at the pamphlet, I don't know." said passenger Shea Rollins. In her defense, she's traveling with three children under age 10.

But with two deadly crashes involving the same version of the 737 in under six months, some passengers and flight crews are taking notice. Sunday, an Ethiopian Airlines crash shortly after takeoff killed 157 people. Six months before that, a Lionair 737 MAX 8 crashed in Indonesia shortly after takeoff, killing all 189 people on board.

China and Indonesia have grounded all 737 MAX 8's, as have a number of foreign based carriers. However, not all passengers think that's necessary here.

"That would be a lot of planes to ground. No I think there should be a system in place to start checking all of them, " said passenger Charlene James.

So how do you tell if you've booked a flight on a 737 MAX 8? Airline websites do have the information about aircraft types. Neither Southwest nor American has changed their rebooking fees. Even if you rebook, airlines can swap out aircraft on short notice anyway.

"Well, planes are going to crash no matter what. I wouldn't be afraid to get on and fly them. If it's your time to go, it's your time to go." said John Barzilla. That's easy for him to say, he was just at the airport to pick someone up.

Boeing is not grounding fleet and neither is the FAA, at least not yet. 350 of the type have been delivered, with 5,000 more on order.