Boeing’s Top Brass Lands in India: Air India Crash Sparks High-Stakes Safety Summit

In a dramatic turn of events four days following the catastrophic crash of Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner in Ahmedabad, Boeing Commercial Airplanes head Stephanie Pope met Air India Chairman N. Chandrasekaran at the airline's Gurugram headquarters outside New Delhi on Monday. The meeting, where Boeing's President for India Salil Gupte was also in attendance, was to talk about the fallout of the tragedy and to show sympathy over ongoing investigations into the crash that claimed the lives of 241 individuals out of 242 on board, the highest number of fatalities in an aircraft crash in a decade.

 

Key Highlights:

 

High-Level Meeting: Boeing's senior-most manager of designing, manufacturing, and delivering next-generation jetliners, Stephanie Pope, held a face-to-face meeting with Air India leadership to coordinate the investigation and reaffirm the company's commitment to safety and assistance.

 

GE Aerospace Role: GE Aerospace Commercial Engines and Services CEO Russell Stokes and GE South Asia head Vikram Rai also met Chandrasekaran on the day, emphasizing coordination of all the parties since the aircraft had GE engines.

 

Area of Inquiry: The cause of the crash is still unknown, although it is said that the aircraft was unable to gain a safe height after lift-off and issued a mayday call before plunging into a fireball. The black box and cockpit voice recorders are being investigated.

 

Operational Effect: Air India, with 33 Dreamliners and over 200 new Boeing aircraft on order, was directed by India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to inspect its entire fleet of 787s as a precaution.

 

Market and Industry Reaction: Boeing lost nearly 8% in premarket trading after the crash, after investors were once again spooked by safety and manufacturing issues. International Spotlight: The crash has focused international attention, and Boeing and GE have reduced their public commitments, including public appearances at the Paris Air Show, to focus on the investigation and on customer support.

 

Relief to Victims: The Tata Group, the parent entity of Air India, announced compensation of almost ₹1 crore (almost $115,900) to each victim family and settlement of the hospital expenses of the injured.

 

Source:

US News (based on Reuters reporting)