Page 5 - The Indian EYE 062025

COVER STORY JUNE 20, 2025 | The Indian Eye 5

crash. “No flame-outs, no sputtering. students had been eating lunch just
This doesn’t look like an engine fail- minutes before the crash. Emergency
ure. It’s a lift issue.” services pulled charred bodies from
the rubble as black smoke billowed
Boeing’s Safety Record into the sky.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
he tragedy has cast a renewed visited the crash site and Ahmedabad
spotlight on Boeing’s Dream- Civil Hospital the next day. “The
Tliner series and the company’s scene of devastation is saddening
broader safety record. Although the beyond words,” he said in a social
787 has not faced the same level of media post. “Met officials and teams
scrutiny as the 737 MAX—which was working tirelessly in the aftermath.
grounded worldwide following two Our thoughts remain with those who
fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019—con- lost their loved ones in this unimag-
cerns have mounted in recent years. inable tragedy.”
Production delays, quality-con- Home Minister Amit Shah
trol lapses, and multiple mid-air tech- confirmed that nearly 1,000 DNA
nical incidents involving Boeing air- samples were being collected for
craft have shaken public confidence. Firefighting operation at the site where the Air India crashed immediately after takeoff with passenger identification, due to the
In early 2024, the FAA temporarily 242 passengers onboard, in Ahmedabad on Thursday (ANI) condition of the remains. With so
grounded over a dozen Dreamliners many bodies unrecognizable, families
to inspect fuselage gaps and battery are left waiting in anguish. Shah also
enclosures. While Boeing insists the pany’s reputation, raising broader tics, hydraulic integrity tests, and pointed out that nearly 125,000 litres
787 remains one of the safest aircraft concerns about its safety culture and flight control inspections. The airline of fuel had exploded on impact, mak-
ever built, the AI-171 disaster has re- accountability mechanisms. has also been instructed to review ing survival nearly impossible.
ignited calls for deeper scrutiny and recent maintenance logs for signs of The loss of prominent figures
stricter oversight. Air India Under Scrutiny repeated snags and complete power such as Vijay Rupani only deepened
The FAA has said it is coordinat- assurance tests within a fortnight. the collective trauma. Tributes from
ing with the National Transportation or Air India, now owned by This is not the first time Air In- political leaders across parties re-
Safety Board (NTSB) and remains the Tata Group, the crash is a dia’s safety standards have come flected the scale of the emotional toll.
ready to dispatch experts to assist Fdevastating setback. The airline under question. In 2022, the air- The crash has attracted global at-
with the Indian investigation. has been undergoing a massive over- line faced multiple flight delays and tention not only because of the Boe-
Over the past decade, Boeing haul, rebranding itself as a world-class emergency landings due to technical ing angle but also due to the presence
has faced a series of high-profile legal carrier with fleet upgrades, improved issues, though none as catastrophic of 61 foreign nationals—53 British,
battles, most notably in connection service standards, and tighter oper- as AI-171. The spotlight is now firmly seven Portuguese, and one Canadian.
with the crashes of two 737 MAX ational protocols. The Dreamliner on Tata’s ability to balance expansion International aviation watchdogs are
aircraft—Lion Air Flight 610 in 2018 fleet was central to this transforma- with safety discipline. closely monitoring the investigation,
and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in tion. and families abroad are pressing for
2019—which together claimed 346 However, cracks in maintenance A Nation Mourns accountability.
lives. These tragedies led to a global and oversight are beginning to show. Air India, for its part, has as-
grounding of the 737 MAX fleet and The DGCA has since ordered en- n Ahmedabad, Delhi, and across sured full compensation and support
triggered criminal and civil investi- hanced inspections of Air India’s India, grief hangs heavy. The to affected families, and the Ministry
gations. In 2021, Boeing agreed to a Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft, particularly Iplane crashed into a hostel mess of Civil Aviation has promised full
$2.5 billion settlement with the U.S. those fitted with Genx engines. These of BJ Medical College, a scene of transparency. Yet, questions remain:
Department of Justice, which includ- checks include fuel system diagnos- horror and disbelief. More than 100 Was this a freak accident, or a system-
ed a $243.6 million criminal penalty ic failure?
and nearly $2.3 billion in compensa- As India prepares for a long
tion to airlines and victims’ families. investigative process, one lesson is
The company admitted to deceiving already clear—no matter how ad-
federal regulators about the air- vanced the aircraft, safety cannot be
craft’s flight control system, known as presumed. It must be relentlessly en-
MCAS. forced, inspected, and improved.
In 2023, Boeing also agreed
to pay $200 million to settle civil A Wake-Up Call
charges from the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission for mislead- he crash of Air India AI-171
ing investors about the 737 MAX’s has jolted the nation and the
safety. Separate lawsuits filed by fam- Taviation world. As the black
ilies of crash victims are still ongoing box is decoded and theories exam-
in U.S. courts, with many plaintiffs ined, India must navigate grief with
pushing for public trials rather than resolve. The lives lost must not vanish
confidential settlements. into bureaucratic inertia or technical
Beyond the MAX incidents, ambiguity.
Boeing has also been scrutinized For every grieving family, and for
for manufacturing defects in its 787 every flier watching nervously from an
Dreamliner and 777X programs. Surat Civil Hospital doctors and staff light candles as they pray for the departed souls of the airport terminal, this is not just about
These legal and regulatory challeng- victims of Air India AI-171 flight crash on Friday (ANI) what happened—but about how we
es have severely damaged the com- ensure it never happens again.

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