Air India plane crash: Boeing’s CEO Kelly Ortberg has cancelled his visit to the upcoming Paris air show, a significant aviation sector gathering, to concentrate on investigating the Air India Dreamliner 787-8 crash.“As our industry prepares to start the Paris Air Show, (Boeing executive vice president) Stephanie (Pope) and I have both canceled plans to attend so we can be with our team, and focus on our customer and the investigation,” Ortberg conveyed in a staff communication accessed by AFP on Friday.The catastrophic Air India incident is likely to subject Boeing to additional scrutiny and media attention, despite recent positive developments under its new management.Also Read | Air India AI 171 plane crash in Ahmedabad: Flying has become safer over the decades; last 5 years safest since 2000Boeing’s shares crashed around 5% at Thursday’s market close following the deadly crash in Ahmedabad in India.“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, adding in a statement that he told Air India’s chairman Boeing would support the probe.This tragedy, marking the first fatal accident involving a 787, occurred just prior to the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport.“A week from now there probably will be one or two operating hypothesis of what happened that people at the show and the public will be talking about,” Morningstar’s analyst Nicolas Owens..The impact of this accident on Boeing remains uncertain, though Owens anticipates the company will secure more 787 orders at the upcoming Paris event.Also Read | Air India plane crash: 787 Dreamliner is Boeing’s flagship product – 10 things to know about aircraft model involved in Ahmedabad crash“It’s highly improbable that people conclude that it’s a systemic problem with the engine or the plane,” he said.The Directorate General of Civil Aviation reported that Air India’s flight 171 declared a mayday alert and crashed “immediately after takeoff.”According to consultancy Cirium, the aircraft, which met its tragic end, had been in Air India’s fleet since 2014 and had accumulated over 41,000 hours of operational flight time.
