Why did another Boeing jet go down?

An airline pilot friend of mine with decades of flying experience once told me a familiar saying among fellow pilots: "If it ain't a Boeing, I ain't going." Boeing is a major manufacturer of passenger airliners and is once again in the news as one of its planes was involved in one of the worst airline accidents in decades. An Air India flight, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, crashed immediately after takeoff on June 12 at Ahmedabad airport in India. Until last week, the 787 had no major incidents. I am not an airplane expert, but being a market analyst, and since Boeing is a publically traded company, I do follow it. In 2018/2019, Boeing's "Max" version of its airliner apparently had a software deficiency that caused two of its planes to crash, killing all aboard on both flights. As recently as June 5, 2024, a door blew out at 16,000 feet on an Alaska Airlines flight of another Max plane. Luckily, the plane landed safely. Had the door failed at higher altitudes, the outcome could have been much worse. What caused the reputation of a once-stellar company that was known for its engineering excellence in airliner manufacturing to miss such a serious design flaw as to cause two of its planes to crash and have a door blow off in flight? Although known for its excellence in engineering, the rumors since a merger with another aircraft company, McDonnell Douglas in 1997, were that profits became the main focus of the new conglomerate. How could Boeing allow something as simple yet as lethal as a software glitch (and an additional lack of a backup device which was rumored to have saved a few bucks along the way) gone unaddressed? Profits over people? With this latest crash, Boeing aircraft may be once again in question. Struggling to rebuild its reputation after the first two Max crashes, Boeing spent billions in inspections, redesign, more manufacturing oversight and changes in leadership. Things looked to be improving until last week's crash. The way the plane went down so soon after takeoff has led to many unanswered questions. Was it pilot error, a maintenance issue or a design flaw? The "black boxes," which record pilot conversations and pilot control inputs, have been found and are undergoing analysis in an attempt to find the cause of the crash. All that is known is that the pilot issued a mayday call which mentioned "loss of thrust" and the plane uncharacteristically stopped its climb a few hundred feet after liftoff and fell back down to earth. In the modern age of airlines, a major crash is extremely rare. Statistics show the odds of perishing in an airliner crash are 1 in 816 million, which is far lower than being hit by lightning in any given year (1 in 1.2 million) and dying in a car crash, which is only 1 in 95. The circumstances of the Air India crash are odd, to say the least. For a plane to lose complete thrust, if that is indeed what occurred, is, according to experts, said to be extremely unlikely. Social media is rife with posts about what might have caused the crash. Needless to say, the posts range from speculative to ridiculous. We may never know the true cause of the crash, but odds are the black boxes, if readable, will lead investigators to a conclusion. Should it be found that a Boeing design flaw was the root of the catastrophe, the airline industry would probably find itself in serious turmoil. Planes could be grounded, causing serious delays and cancellations worldwide. Massive inspections of existing planes or even reworks on any systems found to be at fault would likely cause similar issues. The spillover could be extremely serious to air transportation everywhere and for a prolonged period of time. Having an overseas trip planned myself, I have, for the first time, purchased travel insurance. More importantly however, would be the effect of such findings. The families of the victims are already suffering. Finding out a manufacturing mistake may have caused the crash would likely be even more distressing. What happens to Boeing as a company remains to be seen if it is found at fault. But being one of the few suppliers of airliners around the globe, such a finding would likely be a very serious matter for both the company and the flying public. This article expresses the opinion of Marc Cuniberti and is not meant as investment advice, or a recommendation to buy or sell any securities, nor represents the opinion of any bank, investment firm or RIA, nor this media outlet, its staff, members or underwriters. Mr. Cuniberti holds a BA in Economics with honors, 1979, and California Insurance License #0L34249 His insurance agency is BAP INC. insurance services. Email: news@moneymanagementradio.com