An Air India Flight crashed yesterday, moments after takeoff from Ahmedabad. The Boeing Dreamliner aircraft was on its way to London but crashed into a residential complex near the airport, killing all but one person on board. Boeing’s stock fell nearly 5% yesterday as the crash is seen as impacting the company’s fragile recovery.

Air India was Indian’s state-owned carrier before the country’s Tata conglomerate bought it in 2022. The group owned the carrier before it was nationalized, and it was a homecoming of sorts for the company.

Boeing’s Dreamliner Crashed in India

The investigations into the causes of the crash are ongoing and “will take time,” according to Air India CEO Campbell Wilson. In its statement, Boeing 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.”

After the unfortunate crash, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg canceled his trip to the Paris Airshow next week. GE Aerospace, which made the engine for that aircraft, is postponing an investor day.

“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, and focus on our customer and the investigation,” Ortberg wrote in a message to employees on Thursday evening that was seen by Reuters.

In that note, Ortberg added, “Safety is foundational to our industry and is at the core of everything that we do.” He also said, “Our technical experts are prepared to assist investigators to understand the circumstances, and a Boeing team stands ready to travel to India.”

Notably, Ortberg, who has been in the aerospace industry for over 3 decades and was leading Rockwell Collins between 2013 to 2021, took over the baton as Boeing’s CEO last year. He replaced Dave Calhoun, under whose leadership Boeing stock has sagged and underperformed markets by a wide margin.

Among others, Ortberg is pushing for a cultural change at Boeing. During the Q4 2024 earnings call, he said, “This (culture change) will be a multiyear journey, but we’re already making progress. Our leaders are getting more engaged with their teams and customers. We’re having the frank discussions about what we need to change.”

Boeing’s Dreamliner hadn’t had a Fatal Crash Before This

Notably, this is the first fatal crash involving the Boeing Dreamliner. Speaking with Al Jazeera, aviation expert Scott Hamilton said, “This is the first fatal crash of the 787, so despite all of its problems in the early days and all the production issues that Boeing had with the aeroplane, this has had a perfect safety record up to this point.”

“Boeing has become notorious and infamous with flyers at this moment, regardless of the model of the plane. Even the word ‘Boeing’ triggers a lot of people,” said Adnan Bashir, an independent global communications and corporate affairs consultant who specializes in crisis communications.

Paul Charles, CEO of the PC Agency, a London-based luxury travel consultancy, echoed his views and said, “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.”

Boeing’s Past Woes

While the exact cause of the Air India flight is yet to be determined, it might not have come at a worse time for Boeing, as it had just started to recover from the 737 crisis emanating from whistleblower allegations of the company cutting corners on the popular models to boost profits.

After the second incident, the aircraft was grounded globally for 20 months. Boeing eventually reached a $2.5 billion deferred prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to avoid prosecution on a single charge of fraud.

In January 2024, the door panel of a 737 Max jet blew off during an Alaska Airlines flight. Subsequently, the same year, the engine cover on a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800 fell off during takeoff in April last year.

In his explosive testimony last year, whistleblower Sam Salehpour reiterated that Boeing was very much in the know about the safety issues, but not only ignored them but also retaliated against him when he brought these to the notice.

BA Has Been Posting Losses Amid Safety Woes

Boeing hasn’t posted an annual operating profit since 2018, which coincides with its safety woes. The company has been burning cash and expects to post negative cash flows in 2025, as well. BA had a debt of $53.6 billion at the end of Q1. Amid the recurring negative free cash flows, Boeing’s balance sheet has deteriorated, and the company used debt to tide it over the cash crunch.

Amid Boeing’s safety woes, rival Airbus has outpaced it in orders and deliveries for six consecutive years.

India Was Emerging as a Key Market for BA

Moreover, India was emerging as a key market for Boeing, and Air India was reportedly in talks with Boeing to take deliveries of 10 planes after Chinese carriers refused to take deliveries amid the escalating US-China tensions.

However, the Air India crash has come as a setback for BA, even though we still don’t know whether the crash was due to a manufacturing-related issue or whether it was due to some other factor.

Meanwhile, Boeing’s stock is trading almost flat in pre-market today after the crash yesterday. The broader markets are, however, set to open lower as markets digest the news of rising tensions between Iran and Israel, which has sent oil and gold prices north while leading to a fall in global markets today.