Crisis for Boeing as ‘Safest Airliner’ Crashes for First Time
It’s the latest disaster to fuel questions about the company’s safety record.
NurPhoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner that crashed Thursday in India had been plagued with engineering issues—despite being hailed as one of the world’s safest commercial aircraft.
Having never previously had a fatal accident while transporting more then one billion passengers since entering service in 2011, the jetliner was praised for its safety Monday by air travel website AviationA2Z.
It said: “The aircraft’s composite construction provides enhanced durability and fatigue resistance compared to traditional aluminium structures.
“The aircraft features sophisticated health monitoring systems that continuously assess component performance and predict maintenance requirements. This proactive approach to maintenance significantly reduces the likelihood of in-flight failures that could compromise safety.”
Yet beneath the hype, the Dreamliner has had a long history of engineering concerns. In January 2013, two lithium‑ion battery fires—one in-flight with ANA and another while parked in Boston—prompted the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) to ground the entire fleet, the first time that the FAA had grounded an airliner type since 1979.
The cause of the crash in India is not yet clear.
Amit Dave/Reuters
From about 2019, quality‑control alarms began sounding. Gaps and faulty shims—fillers used to plug the gaps—in tail sections prompted grounded aircraft and a temporary halt in deliveries.
Then, in April 2024, Boeing engineer Sam Salehpour blew the whistle, claiming the company “used shortcuts” and flagged issues such as “drilling holes incorrectly” and forcing components into place—raising fears these defects could degrade structural integrity over time.
Boeing disputed the allegations, insisting that the jets were safe.
Emergency crews battled to extinguish flames at the site of the crash.
Amit Dave/Reuters
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Beast.
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Boeing’s shares were down about 7.5 percent at $197.82 in premarket trading. “It’s a knee-jerk reaction (to the incident) and there’s revised fears of the problems that plagued Boeing aircraft and Boeing itself in recent years,” said Chris Beauchamp, analyst at IG Group, quoted by Reuters.
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