How Air India Dreamliner crash deepens Boeing's crisis of confidence

India Today

13-06-2025

The Air India Flight AI171 crash on June 12—the first fatal accident of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner—has renewed old and lingering doubts about the US aerospace giant's quality-control regimes and corporate culture. The tragedy has also placed the reputation of two other large corporations on the line: the Tata Group and Air India, which it owns since January 2022, for obvious reasons.The Tatas started damage-control early on. Tata Sons chairman N. Chandrasekaran announced Rs 1 crore as compensation for the families of each victim of the plane crash.advertisementAir India has confirmed the death of 241 of the total 242 people (passengers and crew) on board the plane, which crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad airport on the afternoon of June 12, plunging into the BJ Medical College Hostel complex in the city's Meghaninagar area. At least 24 deaths are reported there. The Tata Group has offered to rebuild the hostel of the medical college.'We are deeply anguished by the tragic event involving Air India Flight 171. No words can adequately express the grief we feel at this moment. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families who lost their loved ones, and with those who have been injured,' the Tata Group said in a statement.
Why the crash happened is inconclusive for now, but for Boeing, this comes at a bad time as it faces years of scrutiny, whistleblower claims and a battered public image.advertisementBoeing and its reputation have been severely tested in recent years. Crashes of two 737 Max jets in 2018 and 2019 led to the aircraft itself being grounded around the world and the company being forced to reckon with grave problems in its MCAS software and internal systems. Just as the dust was starting to settle, a door plug blew off a 737 Max 9 in flight in early 2024, and questions about Boeing's manufacturing practices came roaring back.Now the Dreamliner, the company's long-haul, wide-bodied flagship, is at the heart of its latest debacle. The 787 enjoyed a track-record of safety until now, but not without controversy. At least as far back as 2017, according to John Barnett, a former quality manager at Boeing's 787 plant in Charleston, South Carolina, who has filed a confidential United States regulator complaint, faulty parts were installed in planes to keep production moving and there was lack of oversight and transparency at the company's sprawling operations.The warnings included concerns that as many as a quarter of the quick-donning systems, which provide passengers with emergency oxygen on some jets, might not work properly. But these were dismissed at the time. Barnett took his life this March in the midst of legal fights with Boeing.advertisementAnother whistleblower, Sam Salehpour, alleged improprieties involving the Dreamliner in 2014, when he complained that parts on the aircraft's fuselage had been improperly installed, meaning these could weaken over time.From the time of the Ahmedabad accident, Boeing has acted responsibly, expressing regret and promising to work fully with Indian officials. But the market response has been brutal. The company's shares fell sharply in US premarket trading after news of the crash on June 12, down as much as 8 per cent, as analysts said it would stir concerns among investors about potential fallout in both legal liability and future sales of the aircraft.India's aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), hasn't issued an emergency order to ground fleets of the Dreamliner, but has directed a detailed review of operations of wide-body Dreamliners operated by Air India.What makes this moment so perilous for Boeing is the accumulation of its ongoing difficulties. The company is already struggling with delivery delays, production slowdowns resulting from strikes, and a more generalised crisis of confidence in the industry. Even Boeing's commercial customers have started to cite concerns about discrepancies on delivery schedules, The New York Times reported.advertisementMeantime, US authorities have insisted there is 'no need at this time' to ground the Dreamliner fleet but that investigations are on. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is likely to stay in close touch with the Indian authorities as the investigation progresses.Nevertheless, the timing of the crisis couldn't be worse. The crash has scrambled Boeing's safety narrative even as it faces pressure to win back the trust of airlines, regulators, investors as well as passengers, whose patience is wearing thin.If there is any connection between this crash and any of the other safety lapses already known, the implications could be profound, not just for the financial future of Boeing but for the regulation of aviation safety around the world.Subscribe to India Today MagazineMust Watch