Fatal flaw? Boeing 787’s safety issues come under fire after first crash

The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crash soon after take-off from Ahmedabad en route to London on Thursday marks the aircraft’s first fatal accident. Despite its strong safety record, the plane has struggled with technical defects and safety issues in the past, including lithium-ion battery problems, hydraulic and fuel leaks, flap malfunctions, and structural integrity concerns.

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Shortly after today’s crash, The New York Times reported that the accident happened just weeks after the company cut a deal with the US Government to avoid taking criminal responsibility for a pair of deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019. Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes have experienced operational problems in the past with passengers on board, resulting in injuries, the American newspaper said.

Last year, whistle-blower Sam Salehpour alleged that Boeing took shortcuts in manufacturing its 777 and 787 Dreamliner jets, potentially leading to catastrophic risks as the planes age.

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner involved in the crash was 12 years old and had entered service in December 2013. Air India had 242 persons on board, including 169 Indian nationals, when the plane crashed in a residential area shortly after take-off. The aircrew issued a Mayday call but failed to respond to further air traffic control communications.

On its part, Boeing has described the 787 as the “best-selling passenger wide-body of all time”. The aircraft, with its “industry-leading technology” has undertaken five million flights and carried over a billion passengers.

Some inputs suggest that the aircraft was at an altitude of about 800 ft at that time, while some aircraft tracking apps show its last recorded position at the edge of the airport’s runway.

Boeing 787 incidents in India

Today’s crash is the 14th known incident, a few of them categorised as serious, involving Indian registered aircraft of this type since its induction over a decade ago. In addition, five aircraft operated by foreign airlines have also been involved in incidents in India. Across the globe, eight serious accidents and about a 100 other incidents of different types have been reported.

The first incident in India involving the Boeing 787 had occurred on October 12, 2013 at Bengaluru, when after touchdown it was discovered that a ‘heat exchanger access panel’ had detached at the time of landing on runway as the panel was attached to the aircraft with only four screws instead of the required 47 screws.

Another incident took place in December the same year at Kolkata when the brakes of the left hand main undercarriage overheated and emitted sparks. The aircraft had reportedly suffered a tyre-burst.

Two incidents took place in 2014 and 2015, one in which a Boeing 787 was involved in a near miss soon after take-off from the Mumbai airport with a smaller aircraft that had taken off around the same time from the adjoining aircraft in Juhu, and the other in July 2015 when a parked aircraft was hit by an aero-bridge at the Delhi airport during a storm.

The year 2016 saw three incidents involving three Air India’s Boeing 787s and one of Dutch KLM Airlines. In January, a technical malfunction caused smoke in the aircraft’s cabin, forcing it to return to Delhi after take-off.

In November, a KLM Boeing 787 on an Amsterdam – Kuala Lumpur flight came into close proximity with an Indigo A-320 en route from New Delhi to Bengaluru. The same month two Air India Boeing 787s, that had departed Paris and Vienna, came close to each other during flight north of Delhi.

In April 2017, an aircraft suffered a bird strike damaging an engine on approach to Kolkata, followed by another aircraft damaging its engines after it was hit by an airport service vehicle in a parking day at Delhi in October 2017.

In July 2022, an Air India Boeing 787 en route to Cochin from Dubai suffered a loss of cabin pressure requiring an emergency descent and diversion to Mumbai.

The year 2023 saw the highest number of Boeing 787 incidents involving three Air India aircraft and of foreign operators in India. In May, an Air India aircraft on the Delhi — Sydney route encountered severe turbulence, resulting in injuries to some passengers.

In July, an Air India flight bound for Paris returned to land back at Delhi after tyre debris had been found on the runway, and in August an Air India Mumbai —London flight suffered an un-commanded engine shut down in-flight, forcing it to return to Mumbai.

In September, smoke was observed in the cabin of an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 headed to Addis Ababa, while in December 2023, a fire warning light came on in a London-bound British Airways 787, forcing both aircraft to land back at New Delhi.

In January 2024, a Boeing 787 belonging to Bangladesh’s Biman Airlines that was going to Saudi Arabia developed cracks in the cockpit’s windscreen while it was over Central India after it returned to Dhaka.

In May 2025, a Lufthansa flight from Hyderabad to Frankfurt rejected take-off at high speed due to a problem with the nose wheels. A number of tyres deflated as a result of the hard braking.

Air India has a fleet of 190 aircrafts of different types, out of which there are 26 Boeing 787-8 variants and seven Boeing 787-9 variants. The aircraft were inducted by the carrier, then a government entity, in September 2012.

Aircraft’s specifications

 Described as a twin-engined, wide-bodied long range commercial airliner that had made its maiden flight in December 2009, the US manufacturer Boeing has so far produced 1,189 Dreamliners against a total order of 2,137 aircraft. It is in service with about 80 airlines and civilian operators.

The aircraft has three variants – 787-8, 787-9 and 787-10, with seating capacity in a two-class configuration being 266, 318 and 362, respectively, and range varying from 11,700 to 14,000 km. European consortium’s Airbus A330-Neo and A-350 and China’s proposed Comac C929 are among the 787’s closest rivals.

Dreamliner has been pitched for its fuel efficiency, passenger comfort and innovative design features like raked wingtips and smoother nose contours for better airflow and less drag, better air quality, large windows with electronic dimming and advanced noise-reducing technologies for a quieter cabin. About 50 percent of its primary structure is made from carbon fibre-reinforced polymer, making it lighter and reducing fuel consumption by 25 per cent.