The fatal crash raises new concerns for both firms as they try to revamp after years of problems that marred their reputations.

The fatal crash of a 787 Dreamliner that was being operated by Air India from Ahmedabad in northwestern India to London Gatwick Airport has once again fueled scrutiny of both Boeing and the airline, as the two companies have been trying to emerge from years of crises and poor reputations.

The nearly 12-year-old Dreamliner crashed on a densely populated part of the city soon after takeoff, killing 241 of the 242 people on board on Thursday. The total death toll is expected to rise as the plane fell on a medical college hostel and rescue operations are still under way.

The crash raises new concerns for Boeing, which continues to face mounting safety issues that have undermined public trust in its aircraft. These challenges come as the Seattle-based aerospace giant grapples with economic pressures from tariffs imposed by United States President Donald Trump, as well as increased regulatory attention that followed its recent safety issues.

The reason behind the crash is not yet clear.

But it is yet another fatal accident involving a Boeing aircraft, adding to a string of public relations crises that have made many travellers wary of flying on its planes.

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“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,” Adnan Bashir, an independent global communications and corporate affairs consultant who specialises in crisis communications, told Al Jazeera.

The company’s safety reputation began to unravel in October 2018 when a Lion Air flight operating a 737 MAX crashed due to a malfunction in the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), a programme designed to prevent stalls. That crash killed all 189 people on board.

Just months later, in March 2019, an Ethiopian Airlines flight using the same aircraft model crashed for the same reason, killing all 157 people aboard.

Turmoil resurfaced in January 2024, when a door panel detached mid-flight on an Alaska Airlines route between Ontario, California, and Portland, Oregon.

But until now, the 787 Dreamliner aircraft had maintained a relatively strong safety record.

“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,” aviation expert Scott Hamilton told Al Jazeera.

Safety-related scrutiny

First launched in 2011, Boeing has sold more than 2,500 of the model globally. Air India bought 47 of them, and to date, Boeing has delivered 1,189 Dreamliners.

The model has faced years of safety-related scrutiny. In 2024, John Barnett, a former Boeing quality manager, was found dead under suspicious circumstances after long voicing concerns about the 787. Barnett had alleged that Boeing cut corners to meet production deadlines, including installing inadequate parts. He also claimed that testing revealed a 25-percent failure rate in the aircraft’s emergency oxygen systems.

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In 2019, The New York Times published an expose that revealed Boeing had pressured workers not to report safety violations, citing internal emails, documents, and employee interviews.

More recently, another whistleblower, Sam Salehpour, told lawmakers he was threatened for raising safety concerns about Boeing aircraft.

Today’s crash is the latest fatal incident to occur under the leadership of Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, who returned from retirement in 2024 to replace Dave Calhoun. Ortberg had pledged to restore the company’s safety reputation.

Previously, the last fatal Boeing incident occurred in December, when a Jeju Airlines flight crashed after a bird strike, killing 179 of the 181 people on board.

Earlier this month, the US Department of Justice reached a settlement with Boeing that allowed the company to avoid prosecution for previous crashes. The deal required Boeing to pay $1.1bn, including investments to improve safety standards and compensation to victims’ families.

On Wall Street, Boeing’s stock dropped nearly 5 percent from the previous day’s market close.

At this point, experts believe that ultimately, Boeing executives will be careful with their words because of the looming legal challenges they may face if an investigation finds the fault lies with the plane-maker.

“You can almost guarantee there’s going to be lawsuits of some sort. Right now, they’re likely triaging internal and external communication plans with their legal team. Because anything they say in public right now could be used as evidence. And so what they’re going to be doing right now is staying quiet, most likely until more facts come out,” Amanda Orr, founder of the legal and policy communications consultancy firm Orr Strategy Group, told Al Jazeera.

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In response to today’s crash, 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.” Boeing did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.

Air India turnaround setback

For Air India, which has been undergoing a major reinvention in the last few years, today’s crash is a major setback in its efforts to rebrand and modernise.

Founded in 1932, the airline was nationalised in 1953. After years of financial struggles and mounting debt, Tata Group acquired the airline for $2.2bn in 2022.

As India’s only long-haul international carrier to Europe and North America, Air India has a strong hold on global travel from across the country. In 2023, the carrier ordered 220 Boeing aircraft, including 20 Dreamliners, 10 777x jets, and 190 of the embattled 737 MAX.

For now, Air India is focused on its response to the crash.

“At this moment, our primary focus is on supporting all the affected people and their families. We are doing everything in our power to assist the emergency response teams at the site and to provide all necessary support and care to those impacted,” said N Chandrasekaran, chairperson of Tata Sons, the holding company of Tata Group, in a statement provided to Al Jazeera.

“I express our deep sorrow about this incident. This is a difficult day for all of us at Air India. Our efforts now are focused entirely on the needs of our passengers, crew members, their families and loved ones,” Craig Wilson, the airline’s CEO, said in a video statement.

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The airline has experienced a few fatal accidents in recent years. In 2020, an Air India Express flight skidded off the runway in Kozhikode in India, killing 20. A similar accident in Mangalore involving a 737-800 claimed 156 lives.

Despite the shock of today’s crash, flying remains one of the safest modes of travel. According to a 2024 study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the risk of dying in a commercial airline accident is one in every 13.7 million passengers. This continues to be the safest decade in aviation history.

The tail fin of the Air India Boeing 787 that crashed on Thursday.

The tail fin of the Air India Boeing 787 that crashed on Thursday. EYEPRESS/Reuters Connect

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lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt. Impact Link

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An Air India flight bound for London with 242 people on board crashed shortly after takeoff in Ahmedabad on Thursday morning.

241 people on the plane were killed in the crash, with one passenger surviving, Air India said.

The Associated Press reported that a doctor identified the survivor as Vishwashkumar Ramesh, a British national from Leicester.

Amit Shah, India’s home minister, said he was being treated in a hospital.

“We received the good news that one passenger survived. I have personally met this survivor.”

Videos seen across social media appear to show Ramesh walking away from the wreckage.

Ramesh’s brother, Nayan Kumar Ramesh, told BBC News that he “has no idea how he survived.”

US President Donald Trump called the crash “one of the worst in aviation history” at a press conference on Thursday.

Data from Flightradar24 showed the Boeing 787 Dreamliner reaching an altitude of 625 feet before the signal ended. It crashed into a medical college about a mile south of the runway.

Minakshi Parikh, the dean of the college, said at least five of its students were killed after the plane hit a dining facility during lunchtime, The New York Times reported.

A mayday call was issued, but there was no response from the cockpit to air traffic controllers, India’s directorate general of civil aviation said. Officials are still investigating the cause of the crash.

There were 169 Indian citizens, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian on Flight 171, the airline said. The DGCA said there were also 10 cabin crew and two pilots on the flight.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was leading a team of US investigators who were traveling to assist Indian authorities with an investigation into the incident. British investigators also said they were sending a team to India.

The Hindustan Times reported that one of the aircraft’s two black boxes, which records data relating to the flight, was recovered from the wreckage.

The plane, registered as VT-ANB, was first delivered to Air India in January 2014. It had flown to Ahmedabad from India’s capital, New Delhi, earlier in the day, and had flown to Paris, Melbourne, Frankfurt, and Tokyo in the past week.

Thursday’s incident is the first total loss of a 787 since the model entered service in 2011.

Boeing’s CEO Kelly Ortberg said he had been in touch with Air India and that a Boeing team was standing by to support the investigation.

“Our deepest condolences go out to the loved ones of the passengers and crew on board Air India Flight 171, as well as everyone affected in Ahmedabad,” he said.

The tragedy marks the first fatal crash of Boeing’s Dreamliner aircraft.

Boeing stock fell sharply Thursday, ending the day down almost 5% to trade at $203.75.

Morgan Stanley analysts said the event “derails the positive momentum on Boeing’s stock,” which had gained about 25% this year.

Debris at the site of the Air India in Ahmedabad. Sam PANTHAKY/AFP/Getty Images

Air India’s CEO, Campbell Wilson, said in a video statement that the airline’s teams are “working around the clock” to support passengers, crew, their families, and investigators.

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He said that while he understands people want to know more information, “anything we report must be accurate and not speculative.”

“We owe that to everyone involved,” he added.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on X: “The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us. It is heartbreaking beyond words. In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it. Have been in touch with Ministers and authorities who are working to assist those affected.”

Images appeared to show the jet’s landing gear had not been retracted.

Alastair Rosenschen, an aviation consultant and former British Airways pilot, told Sky News: “If the gear was still down, then that would suggest that something is untoward.”

The crash comes at a testing time for Air India, which has been overhauling its operations since the Tata Group acquired the formerly state-owned carrier in 2022.

A year later, it ordered 470 aircraft worth $70 billion at list prices. The new jets, with much more modern seats, are a distinct upgrade from the older planes that make up the bulk of its fleet — although supply-chain constraints have hindered deliveries.

Alan Tan, an aviation law professor at the National University of Singapore, said in a Thursday LinkedIn post that the crash will likely be the “costliest insurance claim in Indian aviation history.”

He said India was not a party to international conventions that protect ground victims in plane crashes, so compensation and insurance claims for ground victims in the Air India crash would have to be dealt with under Indian domestic law.

Insurance claims for victims on board would be based on the 1999 Montreal Convention, which established that airlines would be liable for the death or injury of passengers.

Tan told BI that Air India and Boeing both have their work cut out for them to restore confidence with the public, and there would be an immediate hit to customer perception, particularly for Air India.

“But as other leading airlines facing crises have shown, these are not insurmountable. Transparency and accountability in investigations and consistent messaging to the public will hopefully reduce the risks of a media spectacle,” he said.

The odds were in your favor if you were one of the 242 people who boarded Air India flight 171 in Ahmedabad, India, bound for London on June 12. The plane you were flying was a Boeing 787 Dreamliner which has been in service since 2011 without a fatal crash. More than 1,100 Dreamliners are in use worldwide, carrying more than 875 million passengers over the last decade, according to Boeing. Your particular 787, delivered to Air India in 2014, had amassed 41,000 hours of flying time and just under 8,000 takeoffs and landings, according to Cirium, an aviation industry analytics firm.

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But none of that would have helped you. Just after takeoff, when the plane was barely 625 ft. in the air, it lost altitude and plunged into a residential area, killing all but one of the passengers and crew on board. The cause of the crash is as yet unknown. “Our deepest condolences go out to the loved ones of the passengers and crew on board Air India Flight 171, as well as everyone affected in Ahmedabad,” said Boeing president and CEO Kelly Ortberg in a statement. “I have spoken with Air India Chairman N. Chandrasekaran to offer our full support, and a Boeing team stands ready to support the investigation led by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.” That investigation is likely to go deeper than just Flight 171, ranging back over the 14 years the 787s have been flying—years that, it turns out, have seen numerous complaints, concerns, and whistleblower reports over the safety of the widebody jet. All of them are getting a second look today.

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The problems began in early 2013, when fires broke out aboard two Dreamliners owned by Japanese airlines. One plane had just landed at Boston’s Logan Airport, the other was just leaving Japan and had to turn around and land. Both blazes were traced to overheating of the planes’ lithium-ion batteries that power the electrical system. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) quickly stepped in, grounding the worldwide fleet of Dreamliners and temporarily halting the delivery of new ones to airlines that had placed orders for them. In April of 2013, the FAA accepted Boeing’s fixes, which involved better insulation for the batteries and a stainless steel box that would house the batteries and prevent smoke or flames from escaping into the plane if a fire did start. The Dreamliners were cleared to fly and the company was cleared to resume deliveries within weeks of the FAA’s decision. The next incident occurred in 2019 when, as The New York Times reported in an exposé at the time, John Barnett, a former quality manager who retired in 2017, revealed that he had filed a whistleblower complaint, alleging sloppy work around the wires that connect the planes’ flight control systems, with metal shavings being left behind when bolts were fastened. The risk existed that the shavings would penetrate the wires’ insulation, leading to consequences that Barnett called “catastrophic.”

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Barnett also alleged that damaged or substandard parts were being installed in 787s, including a dented hydraulic tube that a senior manager retrieved from a bin of what was supposed to contain scrap. The FAA inspected several 787s that were said to be free of the shavings Barnett reported and found that they were indeed there, reported the Times. The FAA then ordered that Boeing correct the problems before the planes were delivered to customers. In retirement, Barnett sued Boeing, alleging that the company had denigrated his character and blocked his career advancement during his employment—charges Boeing denies. In March of 2024, he was in North Charleston, S.C., the site of the plant where he was employed, working on his case, when he was found dead in his truck from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. “Boeing may not have pulled the trigger,” Barnett’s family said in a wrongful death lawsuit it filed, “but Boeing’s conduct was the clear cause.”

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The company sidestepped the charge: “We are saddened by John Barnett’s death and send our condolences to his family,” Boeing said in a statement. Last year turned out to be a bad one for Boeing and the Dreamliner for reasons other than Barnett’s death. In January another whistleblower, engineer Sam Salehpour, came forward, reporting that sections of the fuselage of the Dreamliner were improperly connected, with gaps that could cause the plane to break apart during flight. When the sections wouldn’t fit, Salehpour claimed, workers would resort to brute force. “I literally saw people jumping on the pieces of the airplane to get them to align,” Salehpour said in Capitol Hill testimony. “By jumping up and down, you’re deforming parts so that the holes align temporarily. I called it the Tarzan effect.” In a statement on its website, Boeing defended the integrity of the Dreamliner: “For the in-service fleet, based on comprehensive analysis no safety issues have been identified related to composite gap management and our engineers are completing exhaustive analysis to determine any long-term inspection and maintenance required, with oversight from the FAA.”

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Nonetheless, in May, the FAA acted again, announcing that Boeing had been ordered to reinspect “all 787 airplanes still within the production system and must also create a plan to address the in-service fleet.” That was not the first time the government had taken action on the problem of unacceptable gaps in the Dreamliner’s fuselage. From May 2021 to August 2022, the FAA halted the delivery of new Dreamliners to airline customers while the problem was addressed. Deliveries did resume but, as Salehpour testified, so did the shoddy work on the factory floor.

In March 2024, meantime, a LATAM Airlines flight from Sydney to Auckland suddenly plunged 400 ft. when the pilot’s seat in the 787 lurched forward unexpectedly. The captain recovered but 10 passengers and three members of the cabin crew were injured.

For now, the 1,100 Dreamliners criss-crossing the skies are still flying. That could change pending the results of the Air India investigation. Even a temporary loss of the plane—which is a workhorse for long-haul flights—could be a hardship for both the airlines and the flying public. But as the grieving families of the passengers aboard the Air India flight could attest, loss of life is much worse.

SHILLONG: Indore transporter Raja Raghuvanshi was murdered in the fourth attempt by his wife Sonam Raghuvanshi and her accomplices on May 23 near Wei Sawdong falls in Cherrapunji during the couple’s honeymoon, Meghalaya police said Thursday.

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“All accused, including Sonam, have admitted to the murder. The mastermind was her boyfriend Raj Kushwaha,” East Khasi Hills SP Vivek Syiem said. “It was not a contract killing. The other three assailants acted as a favour to him.”

The trio, Raj’s friends Akash Rajput, Vishal Chauhan, and Anand Kurmi, reached Guwahati ahead of Sonam and Raja. The first attempt to kill Raja in Guwahati failed, followed by two more failed attempts in Shillong and near Mawlakhiat village in East Khasi Hills, police said.

On May 23, between 2 pm and 2.18 pm, the group allegedly succeeded in hacking Raja to death near Wei Sawdong falls. “All of them took turns attacking him,” Syiem said. “Akash discarded his bloodstained shirt and wore the raincoat Sonam had on.”

DIG (eastern range) Davis NR Marak said Sonam has shifted the blame onto Raj, who allegedly returned the accusation. “Yes, she confessed to being part of the conspiracy,” Marak said.

Sonam, 24, and Raja, 28, were married on May 11 and left days later for Guwahati to visit Kamakhya Temple. On May 20, they reached Meghalaya. Three days later, both vanished. Raja’s body was found in a deep gorge near the falls on June 2. Sources said that Sonam helped carry Raja’s body to the gorge.

Sonam reappeared at a roadside dhaba in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur on June 9, was arrested, and brought to Shillong. On Wednesday, a Meghalaya court remanded all five accused in eight-day police custody.

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An SIT is questioning them separately and together.

UP police said that Sonam stayed in close contact with Raj before the murder, with call detail records showing 30 calls between May 16 and 23, including late-night conversations and frequent app-based messaging. Surveillance data revealed coordination began as early as May 15, four days after her wedding, when the two allegedly met at a cafe near her Indore home.

Digital forensics teams are now examining GPS logs, backups, and deleted files to map out the conspiracy. More arrests are likely as the probe deepens.

(Inputs from Pathikrit Chakraborty in Lucknow)