Boeing Stock Is Wobbling. Here’s the Latest on the Air India 787 Crash.
Updated June 17, 2025, 11:41 am EDT / Original June 16, 2025, 4:35 am EDT
Boeing BA -0.92% stock was wavering on Tuesday as investors awaited more information about the 787 crash in India.
Shares of the commercial jet maker gained 0.2% to $202.09 in midday trading, while the S&P 500 SPX -0.56% and Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA -0.46% fell 0.3% and 0.1%, respectively.
Shares jumped about $4 shortly after 11 a.m. after reports that Air India had completed its 787 safety inspections without any material findings. Boeing stock gave back about $2 of the gains relatively quickly. Air India operates more than 30 Boeing 787 jets. Inspections and an extra focus on safety have disrupted some flights in recent days.
Coming into Tuesday trading, Boeing stock was down almost $12, or almost 6%, since Thursday when Air India Flight 171, bound for the U.K., crashed shortly after takeoff, killing 241 of the 242 people on board. As of Monday evening, the death toll had risen to almost 280, including people in the area where the plane went down, and was likely to rise further.
The sole survivor of the crash, 40-year-old Vishwashkumar Ramesh, said he heard a loud noise and flickering lights before the crash, according to reports. The pilots made a “mayday” call reporting no lift.
No official statements have been made yet, but videos appear to show the 787 deploying its Ram Air Turbine or RAT, shortly before the crash. RATs are an automatically deployed emergency system designed to provide some electricity and hydraulic power in the event of significant power loss. Essentially, it’s a twin prop turbine that spins in the headwind, generating power.
The RAT deployment could signal engine failure, but no cause of the problem has yet to be determined. Both of the jet’s black boxes have been recovered : the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder, which should yield more insight in the coming days.
The plane was a 12-year-old Boeing 787, powered by GE Aerospace GE +0.01%
GEnx engines, that had accumulated 41,700 flight hours over 7,800 flights. Before Thursday, the twin-aisle 787 jet, introduced in 2011, had never been involved in a fatal crash.
The jet underwent a “C check” which is a comprehensive inspection done every 20 to 24 months, in 2023 according to reports. The engines were overhauled earlier in 2025 in accordance with typical operating procedures.
Monday, an Air India Boeing 787 flight experienced an unspecified technical issue. Flight 315 leaving Hong Kong turned around and landed safely shortly after takeoff, according to flight tracker data. The exact cause of the turnaround hasn’t been disclosed. There is no reason to expect the issues are linked, beyond an increased focus on flight safety. Air India and Boeing didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment about the issue.
Indian aviation authorities are leading the investigation and have ordered additional safety checks of Air India’s fleet of 30-plus 787 jets. Most have been completed without any material findings reported.
Investigations continued as the Paris Air Show opened on Monday. The biennial show is a chance for Boeing and Airbus AIR -0.79% to collect customer orders and for investors to meet with aerospace management teams. Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg canceled his plans to attend, and GE Aerospace delayed its Paris analyst event.
Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com
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