Thursday’s Air India plane crash that killed more than 240 people has brought renewed scrutiny on Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner aircraft — which was at the center of a conspiracy theory following a whistleblower’s suicide last year.
The disaster marks the first time a 787 Dreamliner — Boeing’s newest plane model — has been involved in a catastrophic crash since its debut in 2011.
It’s also the latest disaster to hit the beleaguered American aerospace giant — which has been dogged by a door that blew off a 737 jet, a leaky spacecraft that stranded astronauts on the International Space Station for months, as well as politically damaging delays in outfitting the new Air Force One jets.
The Dreamliner is Boeing’s bestselling wide-body aircraft, and more than 1,200 have been delivered to airlines worldwide.
The deadly crash has left a stain on the jet’s safety record heading into the Paris air show next week. Boeing’s stock tanking by nearly 4.8% as CEO Kelly Ortberg scrambles to boost production of the Dreamliner.
The Dreamliner was first introduced on Japan’s All Nippon Airways in 2011 and there are more than 30 operated by Air India today, according to Cirium, an aviation data firm.
The Air India jet that crashed on Thursday was built in 2014 and had performed some 8,000 takeoffs and landings, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Despite enjoying a 14-year safety streak, the troubled aerospace giant has seen its Dreamliner suffer from a series of production woes and attention from whistleblowers warning about the massive plane’s assembly.
The issues began in 2013, with Boeing’s fleet of 787s grounded following a series of battery fires flagged by air safety inspectors.
Boeing was also forced to pause all 787 deliveries for nearly two years until the summer of 2022 over quality concern issues.
The pause ended when the Federal Aviation Administration approved Boeing’s plan to make fixes that included filling paper-thin gaps around the plane and replacing parts that were not made with the approved titanium needed.
Things only got worse for Boeing last year when whistleblowers began coming out, accusing the company of taking shortcuts to fill the gap created by the 2020 pause, with the former employees and engineers warning that the practice could cause premature damage to the planes.
Boeing has repeatedly disputed the claims made by the whistleblower, claiming an internal investigation recovered no evidence to support the whistleblowers’ concerns over the South Carolina factory where the Dreamliners are made.
Among the whistleblowers was John Barnett, 62, who was found dead just a day after sitting for a deposition with the company’s lawyers in March 2024. His death was ruled a suicide.
Barnett’s death triggered countless conspiracy theories targeted against Boeing, despite investigators finding no evidence of foul play involved in the former employee’s death.
Thursday’s crash also comes as Boeing is still reeling from the deadly accidents involving its 737 Max plane, which saw 346 people die in crashes in 2018 and 2019.
The company had reached a deal with the Department of Justice last month to avoid taking criminal responsibility for the crashes.
“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,” Ortberg said in a statement following Thursday’s tragedy.