Air India crash tests Boeing's new leadership before Paris show
SEATTLE/BENGALURU: Boeing is once again under scrutiny following the crash of an Air India 787-8 Dreamliner that killed nearly all 242 people on board — the deadliest aviation disaster in a decade.
The timing couldn't be worse: the company's top executives are preparing for the Paris Air Show this week, traditionally a high point for announcing deals and showcasing progress.
Though air safety experts emphasize there is no indication yet of a design or manufacturing fault, the incident is expected to dominate conversations at the event, further testing the credibility of Boeing's new leadership team.
CEO Kelly Ortberg, who took the helm amid a wave of crises, entered June with momentum. Boeing had notched more than 300 new orders and was ramping up production of its 737 jets. The Air India tragedy, however, has reignited concerns about the company's long-troubled safety record.
"The ramp-up in orders and production was helping rebuild confidence," said Paul Charles, CEO of the PC Agency, a luxury travel consultancy. "But previous production issues will be very much on people's minds now, and Boeing's leadership needs to be visible in the days to come."
Boeing's stock fell 4.2 percent on June 12. Shares of suppliers Spirit AeroSystems and GE Aerospace, which makes engines for the 787, also declined by about two percent. Boeing's debt saw a modest sell-off.
The Dreamliner that crashed was over 10 years old and delivered to Air India in 2014. It had logged more than 41,000 flight hours, including 420 hours in May and 165 hours during June, according to Cirium and FlightRadar24.
Ortberg said in a statement that Boeing would assist with the investigation. Accident probes typically take months to examine all possibilities.
The 787 line, one of Boeing's most modern, had never suffered a fatal crash until now. The aircraft was temporarily grounded in 2013 for battery issues, though no injuries occurred at the time. By contrast, Boeing's 737 MAX has been at the center of two fatal crashes and multiple production lapses, culminating in the January 2024 mid-air blowout of a door plug that forced out former CEO Dave Calhoun.
Aviation expert John Nance said it may be difficult to separate public emotion from facts: "The biggest challenge for Boeing could be getting lay people to understand that while a jet it made crashed, it is unlikely that Boeing is at fault."
Still, the crash could renew scrutiny of Boeing's safety and manufacturing standards, even if analysts like Jeff Windau of Edward Jones don't expect a lasting production impact.
Before the accident, airline executives had been warming up to Boeing's recovery story — though public trust hadn't kept pace. A May survey by Axios Harris ranked Boeing 88th out of 100 top U.S. companies by reputation, unchanged from 2024.
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