By Dan Catchpole, Nathan Gomes, and Shashwat Chauhan
SEATTLE/BENGALURU – Boeing executives found themselves facing another crisis situation on Thursday following the fatal crash of an Air India 78Z-8 Dreamliner shortly after takeoff earlier in the day.
The newly appointed CEO of The Planemaker, Kelly Ortberg, was slated to attend the Paris Air Show, which is the premier event for the aviation sector this year. This attendance comes hot on the heels of several significant achievements in recent weeks as he endeavors to restore public confidence in Boeing amid various safety and manufacturing issues.
However, his intention to go to the event next week alongside Stephanie Pope from Boeing Commercial Airplanes has been canceled, according to Ortberg, since the firm is concentrating efforts on investigating the inaugural crash of their latest and most sophisticated aircraft, the 787 jet.
“As our sector gears up for the upcoming Paris Air Show, Stephanie (Pope) and I have decided to cancel our attendance plans so we can stay with our team and concentrate on our customers as well as the investigation,” Ortberg stated in an email sent to staff on Thursday night that was reviewed by .
An Air India flight heading to London crashed in Ahmedabad, an Indian city, resulting in the deaths of almost all 242 passengers aboard, marking one of the deadliest air accidents worldwide over the past ten years.
Aviation safety specialists have indicated that currently there is no evidence suggesting a flaw in construction or design as the source of the issue; however, the exact cause of the aviation accident remains unclear.
Safety forms the bedrock of our sector and is integral to all our activities,” Ortberg stated to his staff. “Our specialists stand ready to help with investigations to comprehend the situation, and a Boeing group is poised to head over to India.
Boeing’s primary hurdle might be helping ordinary folks grasp that although one of their jets crashed, this doesn’t necessarily mean the company is culpable, explained John Nance, an aviation safety specialist and ex-commercial pilot. Naturally, crash investigators will explore all potential angles, he noted.
Given that the company’s image remains fragile, addressing this issue will be up to Boeing’s leadership team. Ortberg has been working to steer the firm away from several regulatory and safety issues, and he approached the Paris Air Show following an intense month which saw over 300 new orders along with increased production rates for the 737 model.
“Past manufacturing problems at Boeing will undoubtedly be on everyone’s mind right now, and the recently appointed leaders at Boeing need to make themselves highly visible in the coming days,” stated Paul Charles, CEO of the PC Agency, a London-based luxury travel consulting firm.
Boeing’s stock ended 4.8% down on Thursday.
MAX PROBLEMS
In recent years, Boeing has been held accountable for three significant incidents involving 737 MAX narrow-body aircraft, including two tragic crashes resulting in fatalities. An event in January 2024, where a door plug detached during flight from a newly delivered airplane, further tarnished the company’s image. This occurrence prompted the resignation of CEO Dave Calhoun, along with the heads of their commercial airplanes division and the board chairman.
The Air India aircraft that crashed in Ahmedabad had been operational for over ten years. Its maiden voyage took place around December 2013, with delivery to Air India occurring in January 2014. From that point onward, it logged approximately 41,000 flight hours. This includes about 420 hours spread across 58 trips made in May and roughly 165 hours distributed among 21 journeys taken in June, as reported by Cirium—a company specializing in aviation data analysis—and FlightRadar24, which tracks flights globally.
Prior to the accident, airline executives expressed increased faith in Boeing’s recovery in aircraft deliveries and in Ortberg’s guidance following years of reputational harm for the company. However, this sentiment hasn’t been mirrored among the general public yet. According to last month’s Axios Harris poll ranking 100 well-known corporate brands based on their reputation, Boeing remained at 88th place, unchanged from 2024.
The twin-aisle 787 aircraft have maintained an impressive safety record. However, they were temporarily grounded in 2013 because of problems with their batteries; nonetheless, there were no reports of injuries.
Boeing’s single-aisle 737 MAX aircraft remained grounded for several years after two deadly accidents, enduring extensive examination and facing lengthy manufacturing holdups.
“As a result of the accident, there might be increased oversight of manufacturing and quality control processes. Nonetheless, currently, we do not anticipate this will cause a prolonged disruption in production,” stated Jeffrey Windau from Edward Jones.
The stocks of Spirit AeroSystems, a major supplier, along with those of GE Aerospace, which produces the aircraft engines, both dropped approximately 2%.
Boeing’s considerable debt saw a moderate decline following the accident.
(Dan Catchpole reported from Seattle; Additional reporting by David Shephardson in Washington, Joanna Plucinska in London, Shashwat Chauhan, Nathan Gomes, and Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru, and Shankar Ramakrishnan in New York; The article was edited by David Gaffen, Marguerita Choy, and Jamie Freed)
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