Boeing’s new leadership faces Air India disaster latest problem
After the catastrophic Air India 787-8 Dreamliner accident minutes after takeoff, Boeing leadership was back in crisis mode on Thursday. After numerous major victories in recent weeks, Boeing’s new CEO Kelly Ortberg was scheduled to attend the Paris Air Show, the industry’s biggest event of the year, to regain public faith after a series of safety and production disasters.
Ortberg said his plan to visit the event next week with Boeing Commercial Airplanes president Stephanie Pope has been scrapped as the company investigates the first 787 airplane crash, its most advanced model. “As our industry prepares to start the Paris Air Show, Stephanie (Pope) and I have both canceled plans to attend so we can be with our team, focus on our customer, and the investigation,” Ortberg emailed to colleagues Thursday night, Reuters said.
The biggest aviation tragedy in a decade occurred when an Air India flight to London crashed in Ahmedabad, India, killing nearly all 242 persons. Air safety experts say there is no evidence of a manufacturing or design issue, but the cause of the air accident is unknown. Ortberg addressed colleagues, “Safety is foundational to our industry and at the core of everything we do.” “Our technical experts are prepared to assist investigators to understand the circumstances, and a Boeing team stands ready to travel to India.”
John Nance, an aviation safety expert and former commercial pilot, said Boeing’s toughest difficulty may be convincing laypeople that Boeing is unlikely to be at fault for an aircraft catastrophe. He stated that accident investigators will explore all possibilities. Boeing officials must address public perception of the planemaker, which is still fragile. Ortberg headed to the Paris Air Show following a successful month with more than 300 new orders and 737 production increases. “Previous production issues at Boeing will be very much on people’s minds at the moment and the relatively new leadership at Boeing needs to be visible in the days to come,” said London-based luxury travel consultant PC Agency CEO Paul Charles.
Boeing fell 4.8 percent Thursday. Recently, Boeing was blamed for three high-profile 737 MAX narrow-body plane crashes, including two fatalities. The January 2024 incident, when a door stopper blew off a new plane mid-flight, harmed its reputation and resulted to the retirement of then-CEO Dave Calhoun, head of commercial planes, and board chair. Air India’s Ahmedabad tragedy plane was over a decade old. It flew late 2013 and arrived at Air India in January 2014. According to Cirium, an aviation data analytics firm, and FlightRadar24, a flight tracking website, it has flown over 41,000 hours, including 420 hours in May and 165 hours in June.
After years of reputational damage, airline executives were more optimistic about Boeing’s delivery turnaround and Ortberg’s leadership before the tragedy. The public hasn’t caught on. Boeing ranked 88th in the Axios Harris poll of 100 recognizable business brands by reputation last month, as in 2024. Safety has been good for 787 widebody planes. They were grounded in 2013 for battery issues, but no one was hurt. Boeing’s narrowbody 737 MAX jets were grounded for years after two tragic crashes and faced scrutiny and production delays.
Due to the crash, production and quality procedures may be scrutinized. “We do not expect a long-term production impact,” said Edward Jones analyst Jeff Windau. Spirit AeroSystems, a crucial supplier, and GE Aerospace, which builds aircraft engines, lost roughly 2% apiece. Boeing’s debt sold off slightly following the crash.
