Boeing shares plummeted by 8 per cent in premarket US trading on Thursday following the crash of an Air India aircraft shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, India.
The aircraft, carrying 242 passengers, crashed minutes after leaving the ground.
According to Flightradar24, the plane was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, a modern passenger aircraft. Air India confirmed the flight was headed to Gatwick Airport in the UK.
Police reported the crash occurred in a civilian area near the airport, but details on fatalities remain unclear.
The cause of the crash is currently unknown. Boeing released a statement acknowledging the initial reports and stating they are gathering further information.
This incident occurred as Boeing seeks to restore confidence in the safety of its aircraft and increase production under the leadership of its new CEO, Kelly Orthberg.
Boeing's shares were down about 8 per cent at $196.52 in premarket trading.
"It's a knee jerk reaction (to the incident) and there's revised fears of the problems that plagued Boeing aircraft and Boeing itself in recent years," said Chris Beauchamp, analyst at IG Group.
Boeing is working to gather information after an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with 242 people onboard crashed minutes after taking off from India's western city of Ahmedabad, a company spokesperson said.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said that “the scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating”, adding he was being kept updated as the situation develops.
“Flight AI171 operating Ahmedabad-London Gatwick was involved in an incident,” Air India said in a statement. "At this moment, we are ascertaining the details and will share further updates at the earliest.”
Videos showed heavy plumes of smoke rising from Dharpur near the Meghaninagar area. Fire and emergency response teams have rushed to the spot.
Authorities are yet to confirm the cause of the crash.
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