Editorial: Tragedy in the air

The horrific Air India crash in Ahmedabad involving a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner raises serious questions over passenger safety and aircraft design

The horrific plane crash in Ahmedabad, involving Air India’s Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, has raised serious questions over passenger safety and aircraft design. The reasons for the worst air disaster in recent aviation history are still unclear but it adds to the woes of Boeing, the American aerospace giant, which has been facing intense scrutiny in the last few years over instances of technical malfunction involving its fleet of aircraft. The black box will help us better understand the last moments of the London-bound flight which crashed shortly after take-off at the Ahmedabad airport. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is leading the investigation of the crash that claimed 265 lives including 242 passengers on board. The pilot issued a mayday call to the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) shortly after take-off at 1.39 pm and the aircraft reached just 625 feet before plummeting into a nearby residential area. From a faulty Starliner, a spacecraft developed as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Programme that led to astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore getting stranded in the International Space Station (ISS) for several months, to a series of technical glitches and accidents involving passenger aircraft, Boeing’s woes have been manifold. A helium leak was detected in the Starliner even before its launch in June last year, but the Boeing leadership ignored it. With glitches in the propulsion system and thrusters making the spacecraft unsuitable for the return journey, questions were raised over whether the aerospace company followed the prescribed modules of safety and rescue operations.

Boeing’s challenges are not limited to the space sector. The company has been making media headlines for all the wrong reasons including doors and wheels flying off its jets in mid-air. It faced significant issues with commercial aircraft including the 737 Max crisis, raising broader concerns about safety standards. More than 20 whistleblowers have come forward so far, raising alarms about safety and quality issues within the aerospace major. Though the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is pitched as a more modern, fuel-efficient wide-bodied aircraft, it has struggled with technical defects and safety issues in the past, including lithium-ion battery problems, hydraulic and fuel leaks, flap malfunctions, and structural integrity concerns. Last year, a whistleblower, Sam Salehpour, alleged that Boeing took shortcuts in manufacturing its 777 and 787 Dreamliner jets, potentially leading to catastrophic risks as the planes age. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner involved in the crash at Ahmedabad was 12 years old and had entered service in December 2013. Over the years, concerns have been raised around the safety of Boeing 787s, but the airline company has remained confident in the aircraft’s design. Back in 2013, its batteries caught fire on multiple occasions, leading to a temporary grounding. Boeing is facing several US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigations over safety concerns. Aviation experts believe Boeing’s problems began when profits started taking priority over safety.

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