Air India Mandated to Enhance Safety Checks on Boeing 787 Fleet Post‑Ahmedabad Tragedy — Grounding Not Imposed

Boeing Co. Chief Executive Officer Kelly Ortberg now finds himself in the all too familiar position of leading the company through another crisis, following a crash involving the company's flagship 787 Dreamliner aircraft in India that killed more than 240 people.

In Ortberg's first nine months leading Boeing, he has started to turn the tide of the company. He has navigated a cash crisis, crippling labor turmoil, an urgent overhaul of the companies safety organization, and the trade crisis started by President Donald Trump against one of Boeing's largest customers - China.

Just as Ortberg appeared to be building momentum and earning selective accolades for the discipline and rigor he has brought to the long tormented company, the horrific crash of an Air India 787 on a route to London served as a harsh reminder of how sharply confidence in the manufacturer can dissipate.

Also Read: Israel‑Iran Strike Live: Iran Vows to Make Israel Regret Its ‘Foolish Act’ — Live Updates, Drones, Nuclear Sites

Boeing stock declined almost 5% on Wednesday, following news of the crash, killing 241 of the 242 passengers on board, reinforcing the association of the manufacturer with safety issues. Airlines around the world surmised whether regulators would call for new inspections of the 787 Dreamliner fleet, or even a ground stop, even though the cause for the crash is still unknown at this time.

Ortberg and Boeing commercial aircraft head Stephanie Pope spent precious hours after the tragedy reaching out to Air India executives, "to offer our full support," the CEO told employees in a memo.

Boeing executives also canceled plans to travel to the Paris Air Show next week, where they were to present Boeing's progress and announce orders. GE Aerospace, which manufactured the engines on the crashed Dreamliner, canceled its June 17 investor day in Paris.

It will take investigators weeks, if not months, to go through evidence and determine what caused the fatal crash of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner. That will no doubt keep the focus on Ortberg and Boeing’s accident history, and not the progress the factories have made towards a return to pre-pandemic production levels.

As reported by FlightRadar24, the Air India Dreamliner rolled nearly the entire length of an 11,000-foot runway before finally climbing into the air. It only got to an altitude of 625 feet before it came back down, nose up indicating a loss of lift (a stall), said aviation consultant Robert Mann.

There were many things that were not right, from the design of the aircraft surfaces, to not retracting the landing gear.

Investigators will want to explore what might have led to the loss of power, was it caused by a bird strike, contaminated fuel, maintenance error, pilot error or something else. They say it is less likely that the crash can be traced back to the design and build of the 787, which had flown for Ai India for 11 years.

Also Read: Meghalaya Honeymoon Murder: Top Cop Reveals Raja Raghuvanshi Killed in Fourth Attempt

Ortberg, a soft-spoken Midwesterner and trained engineer, came out of retirement last year to take on one of the more difficult turnarounds in corporate America. Boeing was reeling. They had a near catastrophe with an airborne 737 Max, leading to investigations, a crackdown by US regulators, and a mass-exit of leadership.

He has kept a low public profile, while internally demanding the importance of a civility, respect, and pride in workmanship culture. A working group of employees, that developed a statement on values, insisted on imploring Boeing's workforce to "give a damn."

One of Boeing's customers, John Plueger, chief executive officer of Air Lease, the largest US aircraft financier, has noticed a change. The manufacturer's planes are arriving on time, after years of chronic delays, according to Plueger in an interview last month. The company's jet factories and supply chain appear to be less disrupted and have fewer quality breakdowns, though he said this is still a concern.

The U.S. planemaker even enjoyed the benefit of a record order from Qatar Airways during a visit by Trump, lifting its May orders to the highest monthly total in about 18 months.

That momentum is at risk of faltering as the company tries to determine what role, if any, Boeing played in the crash.

The plane at the center of the tragedy was built early in the 787 program when Boeing was still dealing with the impacts of its decision to turn over most of the design and development work to suppliers to keep costs down. The Dreamliner was the 26th to roll off Boeing's line and it was among 60 early aircraft that needed extensive rework after rolling out of Boeing's factory north of Seattle.

Although the growing pains of the 787 Dreamliner had lessened as the carbon-composite jet established itself as mostly stable operator for airlines ranging fro ANA Holdings Inc. and United Airlines Holdings Inc.

Also Read: Fuel and Flesh: Air India Crash Site Turns Graveyard as Stench of Horror Lingers