The deadly and tragic Air India crash on Thursday in Ahmedabad has left the country reeling. The plane model at the center is Boeing’s 787-8 Dreamliner, which till this particular crash had zero accidents to its name, considered extremely safe.
The crash of flight AI171 resulted in the death of 241 passengers, two pilots, and 10 cabin crew members, with one sole survivor after the plane went down minutes after it took off from Ahmadabad Airport around 1.30 pm.
The plane suddenly went low over buildings near the airport, slowly descending and eventually crashing into a residential area, including hitting a medical college’s dining area. This also resulted in several casualties on the ground.
As per initial reports, India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has launched an investigation, and it remains to be seen who was actually at fault.
However, this has once put a spotlight on Boeing, the aviation firm, and the history of its plane crashes, often leading to hundreds of people suffering in the wake of it.
Why Is It Always Boeing At The Scene Of The Crime?
This is not the first time that Boeing has been in trouble when one of its planes crashed. Their most infamous, the 737, has been at the center of several accidents, such as the Lion Air Flight 610, where a Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashed on October 29, 2018, in the Java Sea, Indonesia, resulting in 189 fatalities. The cause was reported to be a faulty MCAS software system.
Another deadly crash was Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, where a Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashed on March 10, 2019, killing all 157 people on board. The reason for this was also said to be an MCAS malfunction.
Both these incidents led to the Max series being grounded for 18 months from March 2019 to December 2020 worldwide.
Read More: The Indian Female Pilot Whose Emergency Landing With Plane On Fire Saved 200 Lives
The Jeju Air Flight 2216 crash of December 24, where a Boeing 737-800’s malfunction at the Muan International Airport killed 179 people and became one of the worst aviation disasters in South Korea, with only two survivors, is another one in recent history.
A big blot on Boeing’s reputation was the January 2024 incident of Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9, where one of its doors flew off while the plane was midair after departing from the Portland International Airport in Oregon.
Boeing further paid $160 million in compensation to Alaska Airlines for the loss in revenue due to the incident. During this time, six passengers also filed a class-action lawsuit against the firm claiming that “the event physically injured some passengers and emotionally traumatized most if not all aboard.”
Boeing has been reporting a steady loss since 2019, with 2024 seeing it lose $11.8 billion, bringing their total loss to more than $35 billion. A strike by almost 33,000 workers in September 2024 halted production and led to further losses, with the firm unable to meet delivery capabilities.
The recent Air India cash saw Boeing’s shares fall by more than 4%.
The company has also seen whistleblowers come out to voice concerns against the company.
In 2019, John Barnett, who worked as a quality control manager at Boeing for 32 years, as per a BBC report, “claimed faulty parts were deliberately fitted to planes on the production line at one Boeing factory.”
He also alleged that the 787 Dreamliner, which tests showed around a quarter of the oxygen system in the plane could be faulty and leave the aircraft without oxygen if the cabin saw decompression.
While Boeing denied his accusations, the whistleblower was found dead on March 9, 2024.
Engineer Sam Salehpour was another whistleblower to come out and speak against Boeing, claiming that the company was using shortcuts, especially with the manufacturing of the 777 and 787 Dreamliner jets over three years since 2020. He alleged that as the aircraft grows old, these cost-cutting measures could prove to be fatal, but when he voiced his concerns, he was told “to shut up”.
During a congressional investigation hearing regarding safety issues with Boeing, he also reportedly told US lawmakers that he was being harassed and threatened since he’d raised concerns about these planes.
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: BBC, The Hindu, Reuters
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