The Air India tragedy in Ahmedabad is the first time a Boeing 787 Dreamliner has crashed since the plane’s introduction in 2011.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which was delivered to Air India in 2014, was carrying 242 people and was headed to Gatwick Airport in London.
While airlines using the Boeing plane have had widespread problems with engines on the 787 – resulting in many having to ground planes and reduce flights – the 787’s safety record in service has so far been good.
However, the US safety regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), has had to investigate several concerns over the years, including a mid-air dive on a Latam flight last year.
A whistleblower last year also urged Boeing to ground all 787 Dreamliners worldwide, in Washington hearings. Boeing rejected the claims by the former engineer and said it was fully confident in the plane.
“We are in contact with Air India regarding Flight 171 and stand ready to support them,” a Boeing spokesperson said in a statement as quoted by Yahoo finance.
“Our thoughts are with the passengers, crew, first responders, and all affected.” Authorities believe that everyone on board the flight is likely dead, and emergency crews have recovered over 200 bodies from the wreckage.
This incident marks the first deadly crash involving a Boeing 787 Dreamliner since its introduction in 2011.
The cause of the crash is currently unknown and will likely be investigated by aviation authorities.
Boeing’s shares had been up over 20% year to date, thanks to a company turnaround under new CEO, Kelly Ortberg.
Shares of Boeing suppliers also declined on Thursday, with GE Aerospace falling over 2% and Spirit AeroSystems declining as much as 3%.
The incident has raised concerns about aviation safety and will likely be closely watched by regulators and industry experts.
The crash also brings back memories of the deadly crashes of Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 and Lion Air flight in 2018 and 2019, which exposed critical flaws in the software of the 737 Max 8 jet and led to a 20-month global grounding of the aircraft.
Boeing has been working to recover from previous setbacks, including a “door plug” incident on an Alaska Airlines flight.
Boeing also came under intense scrutiny in 2019, following the deadly crash of Ethiopian Airlines flight 302. That incident followed a Lion Air flight crash just five months earlier.
Both of those crashes exposed critical flaws in the software of the 737 Max 8 jet, leading to a 20-month global grounding of the aircraft.
The incident will likely have a significant impact on Boeing’s reputation and may lead to further scrutiny of the company’s safety procedures.
As the investigation into the crash unfolds, Boeing will likely face intense scrutiny from regulators, industry experts, and the public.
A Boeing spokesperson said: “We are in contact with Air India regarding flight 171 and stand ready to support them. Our thoughts are with the passengers, crew, first responders and all affected.”
Investigators will hope to swiftly locate and analyse the black box data recorders, including the cockpit voice recorder. Despite its human toll, the Ahmedabad crash was relatively low-impact. CCTV footay shows the plane starting to descend just seconds after leaving the runway.
According to flight-tracking information on Flight Radar, the plane had reached a maximum height of just 190 metres (625ft).
Plane crashes are statistically most likely to happen during landing or takeoff, but experts said there appeared to be no obvious explanation for the crash. Weather conditions were benign. Images show the plane’s nose in the air, indicating the pilots were trying to keep it aloft, although the landing gear was apparently lowered.
David Gleave, a former accident investigator, told the BBC: “It’s a very unusual accident … it’s a very unusual situation, so soon after takeoff, and it is a very safe aeroplane.”
John McDermid, a professor at the University of York, said: “Pilots can abort takeoff until quite late. So it seems like the problem occurred very suddenly … and was sufficiently serious to be unmanageable.”
Passenger aircraft are designed to be able to fly on one engine. Jason Knight, a senior lecturer in fluid mechanics at the University of Portsmouth, said: “The most likely cause of a double engine failure is a bird strike.”
According to report a British man, Ramesh Viswashkumar, was the only survivor of an air crash that killed about 241 people today in Ahmedabad, India.
Air India Flight 171, a Boeing 787, crashed shortly after taking off for Britain, where it was scheduled to land at Gatwick Airport.
