Investigators are still searching for a cause behind the Thursday crash of an Air India Boeing 787 that killed almost 300 people. One passenger aboard the flight survived the tragedy. Boeing stock continued to fall Friday.
Air India flight AI171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner with 242 passengers and crew bound for London, crashed Thursday in a residential area shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad in western India. It marks the first fatal crash involving a 787 Dreamliner, according to data from the Aviation Safety Network
Approximately 294 people died in the accident, state police officer Vidhi Chaudhary told Reuters. At least 24 people who were on the ground are believed to be dead. Those include some of the students in a hostel for medical students, where the plane crashed. Exact figures on casualties and injuries are still being determined.
Boeing Stock Down Again Friday
BA shares initially tumbled another 8% early Friday, then closed with a 1.7% decline. Boeing stock pared its Thursday decline to 4.8%.
Rescuers continued clearing debris and searching for missing people on Friday, according to Reuters. They recovered the aircraft's black box, which could assists investigators in determining the cause of the crash.
"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," Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said in a Thursday statement. "I have spoken with Air India Chairman N. Chandrasekaran to offer our full support, and a Boeing team stands ready to support the investigation led by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau."
Air India is providing "full cooperation" with the authorities during the investigation. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said online Thursday that it will also send a team of investigators to India.
Flight Details
The aircraft, registered VT-ANB, took off at 1:39 p.m. local time from runway 23, AviationWeek reported. The pilots issued a mayday call to air traffic control, but did not respond to calls from ATC, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said.
Flightradar24 said that initial flight data showed the Boeing 787 reached a max barometric altitude of 625 feet, then started to descend at a vertical speed of about 475 feet per minute.
The aircraft served in routine long-haul flights over the past few weeks. It completed a 1.09 hour flight from Delhi to Ahmedaba in the morning before departing. The plane arrived from Paris at 1:34 a.m. on June 12.
Potential Causes
It is still too early to determine what caused the crash. But experts are voicing a number of potential factors.
Bernstein analyst Douglas Harned in a Thursday research note said he believes engine issues played a role in the crash, The Fly reported. The plane's slow rate of climb before a rapid descent suggests a loss of power on takeoff, which would most likely be traced to the engines, Harned theorized. However, the aircraft employed GE Aerospace's GEnx-1B engines, which have a strong reliability record, according to Harned.
"Maintenance performance is always a possibility in situations like this — airframe or engine," he wrote. Bernstein has an outperform rating for Boeing and GE stock.
Dr. Sonya Brown, a senior lecturer in aerospace design at the University of New South Wales, said footage appears to suggest the plane stalled, the Guardian reported.
"It does look to me like a significant loss of thrust," Dr. Brown said. Thrust makes planes go faster, and speed is required to gain lift. Losing speed without thrust can lead to stalling, according to Dr. Brown.
Former NTSB investigator Jeff Guzzetti agreed, telling NPR that it, "appears to me that the airplane is unable to climb."
Guzzetti offered several potential explanations.
"Perhaps the engines were not putting out the amount of power they needed to be putting out," he said. Though it could have been a computer programming issue with the engines, he added.
Wing flaps should normally be extended during takeoff. Experts said it appeared they were not extended based on the Air India video. But Guzzetti was not able to tell if they were properly extended or not based on what he saw
It could take months or years before there is an official determination of the cause of the crash, NPR reported, citing industry experts.
Analysts Reactions
Morgan Stanley analyst Kristine Liwag in a research note said the Air India crash increases scrutiny on Boeing, The Fly reported. The "best case scenario" for Boeing is that the event was due to specific circumstances, such as pilot error, which would not affect new airplane deliveries. The "worst case scenario" would be a system issue that could potentially ground the fleet or halt new deliveries. In either scenario, regulatory scrutiny will be higher on Boeing, Liwag said.
Morgan Stanley maintained an equal weight rating on Boeing stock with a 200 price target.
Meanwhile, RBC Capital analyst Ken Herbert believes the crash will overshadow Boeing sentiment ahead of the Paris Air Show, according to The Fly. Herbert expects investors to take a cautious view of the stock, even though causes and implications of the crash are unknown. The Air India accident will likely limit the near-term upside that original equipment manufacturers typically see the week of the airshow, he added.
Herbert noted that downside for Boeing is somewhat limited historically, after several of the Dow Jones manufacturer's more recent crashes and incidents. Boeing stock is down an average of 5% on the day of a crash or incident, and then down an average of 6% one week after the event, according to RBC.
Boeing Stock
Shares fell for four consecutive days. Boeing on Monday hit its highest level since February 2024.
Boeing stock is still up 13% in 2025.
GE Aerospace slid 1.4% Friday. The stock has retreated from its record high of 257.47 from June 6. GE stock is up almost 42% this year.
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