EVERETT — The plane in Thursday’s Air India Flight 171 crash that killed more than 260 people was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner built in Everett, according to aviation analytic firm Cirium.
The Air India passenger plane crashed moments after takeoff Thursday during a flight bound for London from the western city of Ahmedabad, according to The New York Times. It crashed into a nearby medical center, with more than 242 people on board, The Times reported. Dozens of people on the ground were also killed. It’s the first fatal crash linked to the Boeing Dreamliner.
The plane had more than 41,000 hours of flying time, and is one of 34 used by Air India at the time of the crash.
“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 CEO Kelly Ortberg in a statement Thursday. “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.”
The plane was manufactured in Everett before Boeing consolidated production of Dreamliners to its North Charleston, South Carolina facility. The plane’s first flight was Dec. 14, 2013, and it was delivered to Air India on Jan. 28, 2014, according to Cirium.
While it’s too soon to know what caused the crash, it brings renewed scrutiny to Boeing’s safety record.
In April 2024, Sam Salehpour, a Boeing quality engineer who worked at the Boeing assembly plant in Everett, saw the company take shortcuts in the plane’s assembly that “may reduce the life of the aircraft, putting the planes at risk for sudden fatigue failure,” his attorneys posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In a statement in April 2024, the company said: “We are fully confident in the 787 Dreamliner,” adding that “these claims about the structural integrity of the 787 are inaccurate and do not represent the comprehensive work Boeing has done to ensure the quality and long-term safety of the aircraft.”
On Thursday, lawyers for Salehpour called on the Federal Aviation Administration to release a report on its investigation into safety concerns that the engineer had raised about the 787 Dreamliner, according to The New York Times.
The lawyers, Debra S. Katz and Lisa J. Banks, said on Thursday that an investigator from the agency told them in December that an inquiry was complete and a report would be issued shortly. But that never happened, The Times reported.
“We awaited release of the report and yet, nearly six months later, it has not seen the light of day,” Katz and Banks wrote in a letter to Chris Rocheleau, the acting administrator of the FAA.
The FAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In May, the company reached a deal with the Justice Department, which would spare Boeing criminal responsibility from crashes of its 737 Max planes in 2018 and 2019, The New York Times reported.
Under the agreement, Boeing would still have to admit to obstructing federal oversight, pay a fine, contribute to a fund for the families of the victims, and invest in safety and quality programs. The deal, which must still be approved by a judge, was opposed by many of the families of the crash victims.
Michael Henneke: 425-339-3431; michael.henneke@heraldnet.com; X: @ihenpecked.
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