Air India crash refuels Boeing and airline’s problems | Aviation News

The fatal accident of a 787 Dreamliner which was operated by Air India from Ahmedabad, in northwestern India, at Gatwick London Airport, has again fueled the control of Boeing and the airline, while the two companies have tried to emerge years of crisis and bad reputation.

The Dreamliner of almost 12 years crashed on a densely populated part of the city shortly after takeoff, killing 241 of the 242 people on board on Thursday. The total number of deaths is expected to increase while the plane came across a medical college inn and rescue operations are still underway.

The accident raises new concerns for Boeing, which continues to deal with growing security problems that have undergone public confidence in its plane. These challenges arise as the Seattle -based aerospace giant is struggling with the economic pressures of the prices imposed by US President Donald Trump, as well as increased regulatory attention that followed his recent security problems.

The reason behind the accident is not yet clear.

But it is still another fatal accident involving a Boeing plane, adding to a series of public relations crises that have made many travelers to fly on its planes.

“Boeing has become notorious and sadly famous with leaflets right now, regardless of the plane model. Even the word “Boeing” triggers many people, “said Adnan Bashir, an independent consultant for global communications and commercial affairs who specializes in crisis communications, told Al Jazeera.

The company’s security reputation began to began to be in October 2018 when a Lion Air flight operating a maximum 737 crashed due to a dysfunction of the maneuvering characteristics (MCAS), a program designed to prevent stands. This crash killed the 189 people on board.

A few months later, in March 2019, a flight from Ethiopian Airlines using the same plane model crashed for the same reason, killing the 157 people on board.

Turmous resurfaced in January 2024, when a Detached door panel half-voltage On an Alaska Airlines road between Ontario, California and Portland, Oregon.

But so far, the Dreamliner 787 plane had maintained a relatively solid security record.

“This is the first fatal crash of the 787, so despite all its problems at the start and all the production problems that Boeing had with the plane, it experienced a perfect security record to this point,” said Scott Hamilton, aviation expert, in Al Jazeera.

Launched for the first time in 2011, Boeing sold more than 2,500 of the model worldwide. Air India bought 47 of them and to date, Boeing has delivered 1,189 Dreamliners.

The model has faced years of security related to security. In 2024, John BarnettA former Boeing quality official was found dead in suspicious circumstances after long concerns expressed concerning the 787. Barnett had alleged that Boeing had cut the corners to comply with production times, in particular the installation of inadequate parts. He also said that the tests had revealed a failure rate of 25% in the air oxygen systems of the plane.

In 2019, the New York Times published a presentation which revealed that Boeing had put pressure on workers not to report security violations, citing internal emails, documents and employee interviews.

More recently, another reproduction, Sam Salehpour, told legislators that he had been threatened with having raised security problems concerning Boeing Aircraft.

Today’s accident is the last deadly incident to occur under the direction of The CEO of Boeing, Kelly Ortberg,Who returned from his retirement in 2024 to replace Dave Calhoun. Ortberg was committed to restoring the reputation of business security.

Previously, the last deadly Boeing incident occurred in December, when a flight from Jeju Airlines crashed after a bird strike, killing 179 of the 181 people on board.

Earlier this month, the United States Ministry of Justice has arrived settlement With Boeing which allowed the company to avoid prosecution for previous accidents. The agreement obliged Boeing to pay $ 1.1 billion, including investments to improve safety standards and compensation to the families of the victims.

In Wall Street, the stock of Boeing fell by almost 5% compared to the closing of the day before.

At this stage, experts believe that in the end, Boeing leaders will be careful with their words because of the imminent legal challenges they could be confronted with if an investigation reveals that the fault lies in the aircraft manufacturer.

“You can almost guarantee that there will be proceedings in a way. Right now, they probably sort out internal and external communication plans with their legal team. Because everything they say in public could be used as proof.

In response to today’s accident, Boeing said: “We are in contact with Air India concerning the Flight 171 and we are ready to support them … Our thoughts are with passengers, the crew, the first stakeholders and all concerned.” Boeing did not respond to the request for comments from Al Jazeera.

Return of air recovery India

For Air India, which has undergone major reinvention in recent years, today’s crash is a major setback in its efforts to rename and modernize.

Founded in 1932, the airline was nationalized in 1953. After years of financial difficulties and assembly debt, Tata Group acquired the airline for $ 2.2 billion in 2022.

As the only long-haul international carrier in India in Europe and North America, Air India has a strong grip on global trips across the country. In 2023, the carrier ordered 220 Boeing aircraft, including 20 Dreamliners, 10,777x jets and 190 of the 737 max.

For the moment, Air India focuses on its response to the accident.

“Right now, our main objective is to support all those affected and their families. We do everything in our power to help the emergency intervention teams on the site and to provide all the support and care necessary for those affected, “said N Chandrasekaran, president of Tata Sons, the Tata group relaxation company, in a statement provided to Al Jazeera.

“I express our deep sadness about this incident. It is a difficult day for all of us at Air India. Our efforts are now fully focused on the needs of our passengers, crew members, their families and their loved ones,” said Craig Wilson, CEO of the airline, in a video press release.

The airline has experienced some fatal accidents in recent years. In 2020, an Air India Express flight slipped from the track in Kozhikode in India, killing 20. An accident similar to Mangalore involving a life of 737-800 won 156.

Despite the impact of today’s accident, the flight remains one of the safest travel methods. According to a 2024 Massachusetts Institute of Technology studyThe risk of dying in an accident in the commercial airline is a passengers out of 13.7 million. This continues to be the safest decade in the history of aviation.