Air India Plane Crash: Once Again, Boeing Faces Questions About Safety Standards

The reason for the crash is under investigation, but the has raised several questions, including about regulatory and policy issues, but most importantly about whether Boeing planes are safe to fly. Safety concerns about Boeing planes have been raised from time to time. 

An expert said that the accident occurred within a few minutes of take-off. “At that point, pilots can normally abort take-off, but there must have been something very sudden, which needs to be thoroughly investigated,” he said on condition of anonymity.

On Thursday, the Air India crash took place seconds after it took off. Of the 242 people on board 241 have died. Gujarat's former Chief Minister Vijay Rupani is among those dead. The black box has been recovered.   

Boeing Crashes

In 2020, a Boeing 737-800 of Air India Express — a smaller bird — had skidded off the runway at the Calicut airport.

John Barnett, who had worked for the company for three decades, had raised serious questions over Boeing's safety issues. In an interview to BBC in 2019, Barnett had said that the airline was deliberately using faulty parts.

He also said, “The rush to get new aircraft off the production line meant that the assembly process was rushed and safety was compromised.” Needless to say, the aircraft biggie denied these allegations.

What followed was even more scandalous, even though it didn't raise that big a controversy: The whistleblower died suddenly and mysteriously. 

Last year, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the American regulator, carried out an investigation of Boeing’s safety practices. Issues related to the safety of Boeing aircraft were raised after a LATAM flight faced a sudden mid-air drop of about 500 feet, which had left many injured. 

“My gauges just kind of went blank on me,” the pilot had then said. 

In May, Boeing agreed to pay a whopping US$ 1.1 billion in a deal with the US Department of Justice to avoid prosecution over these crashes.

Earlier, an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing crashed in March 2019, killing more than 150 people.  

Air India's Dreamliners

Air India, which has more than 30 Dreamliners, had first acquired this bird in 2012. It has also placed orders for another 20.

Speaking to The Secretariat earlier, a senior executive of the airline, said, “We will be expanding our fleet and orders have been placed. We should be getting the aircraft by year-end.”

Following the devastating crash, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), in an order, asked Air India to put in place additional safety inspections for its fleet of Dreamliner aircraft.

It has also asked the airline to undergo necessary power assurance checks, required to assess if an engine is fit to provide the thrust during for take-off.

At a time when the American giant is trying to restore its image, the Air India crash will come as a severe jolt. It should force the aircraft manufacturer to carry out a complete investigation into its manufacturing standards, while ensuring that all safety guidelines are rigorously followed. 

Meanwhile, the Tata Group, which already had Vistara under its wings, officially took over Air India in 2022. Since then, the company has been facing a host of challenges, especially related to integrating Vistara and Air India.

The senior executive had said, "Those challenges are behind us, and now we are ready to fly." But this crash has brought back images and videos of the Maharaja, showing how often its features inside the aircraft don't function.

Videos of broken seats and tray tables, inadequate air conditioning, and delayed flights have often hit the Internet. Air India will now have to switch gears to rebuild its brand value and credibility — perhaps from scratch.