On Thursday, Air India’s Boeing aircraft (AI 171) crashed in the Meghaninagar area near Ahmedabad airport. As per DGCA, almost 242 passengers were onboarded, including 10 cabin crews and 2 pilots. This has raised a large number of outrages against Boeing aircraft. On the same day, Boeing shares were down by 8 percent during pre-market as the flight that crashed was a Boeing aircraft.
Boeing’s history of accidents
The Boeing 737 MAX was certified in 2017, but had two fatal crashes: Lion Air Flight 610 (October 29, 2018) and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 (March 10, 2019), which together killed 346 passengers. Both crashes were linked to a malfunctioning Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), which was repeatedly forcing the aircraft’s nose down due to erroneous data from a single angle-of-attack sensor.
Following the second crash, China, the US, and many other countries have grounded the aircraft. Additionally, a Boeing 737 MAX 9 operated by Alaska Airlines had a midair cabin panel blowout, which led the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) to ground 171 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft with the same door plug configurations in question for inspections and repairs. In 2024 Air India placed 570 orders, of which 250 were placed with Airbus and 220 were placed with Boeing, which exposes it to future uncertainties.
Also read: Ahmedabad Plane Crash: Air India flight to London with over 200 passengers crashes during take off
Why so many accidents with Boeing aircraft?
Boeing planes, particularly the 737 MAX, have a history of incidents, the result of a mix of technical problems and its internal decision-making. The core of the problem originated from the failure of the MCAS due to erroneous sensor data that led to two fatal crashes.
Following investigations indicated that Boeing had withheld important aspects of the MCAS from regulators, including the fact that the aircraft would require retraining for pilots, which the company wanted to avoid. Even after being deemed safe to resume flying, still more quality issues arose (e.g., loose parts).
Experts believe that since Boeing acquired McDonnell Douglas in 1997, the company’s priorities shifted from safety, quality and engineering to cost-cutting and profit-driving initiatives, sacrificing aircraft reliability.
Conclusion
As public anxiety over Boeing’s safety record rises, it remains too early to say anything definitively. The DGCA has yet to determine the cause of the crash involving Air India, and until then, any assumptions remain speculative. A full investigation will help determine liability and any corrective actions, if they should be.
Written by Satyajeet Mukherjee
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