New Delhi : The Air India tragedy in Ahmedabad is the first time a Boeing 787 Dreamliner has crashed.
While airlines using the Boeing plane have had widespread problems with engines on the 787 plane, leaving many having to ground planes and reduce flights, the 787’s safety record in service has been so far good.
However, the US safety regulator the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has had to investigate several concerns over the years, including a mid-air dive on a LATAM flight last year.
A whistleblower last year also urged Boeing to ground all 787 Dreamliners worldwide, in Washington hearings. Boeing rejected the claims by the former engineer and said it was fully confident in the plane.
There are more than 1,100 787s in service worldwide, used by most major international airlines. The model has been prized for its far better fuel efficiency and lower noise than the types it replaced.
The two major crashes that were due to faults on Boeing planes were using the then new 737 Max model, in Indonesia and Ethiopia in 2019 and 2020. That model taken out of service for almost a year, before being relaunched and returned to widespread use.