Air India crash: How safe is the Boeing 787 Dreamliner?

Aviation experts have weighed in after the Air India plane crash, which killed more than 290 people, sparked major concerns among Aussies about flying that model aircraft in the future.

Australians shouldn’t be alarmed about flying on Boeing 787 Dreamliners, aviation experts say, despite the aircraft’s chequered safety history and renewed scrutiny following the fatal Air India crash.

The ill-fated AI171 service, bound for London Gatwick, is the first fatal crash involving the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, a long-haul jet in commercial service since 2011 and widely used across the globe — including in Australia and the Pacific.

Across Oceania, an estimated 40 routes are operated by Boeing 787 Dreamliners, with approximately 280 weekly flights. Major carriers using the aircraft in the region include Qantas, Jetstar, Air New Zealand, and Fiji Airways.

Australians shouldn’t be alarmed about flying on Boeing 787 Dreamliners, aviation experts say.

Within Australia alone, there are nearly 5000 weekly flights operated by Boeing aircraft to domestic and international destinations. Specifically, about 349 of these weekly flights use the larger 787-9 and 787-10 Dreamliner variants.

Boeing launched the 787 program in 2007 as a next-generation fuel-efficient jet to replace ageing 767s. After a bumpy development process, its first commercial flight took off in 2011.

One of its most serious early issues came in 2013, when several battery fires led to the entire global Dreamliner fleet being grounded, including in India. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) flagged serious risks linked to its lithium-ion battery system, prompting major design and safety changes.

Aviation Projects managing director Keith Tonkin said the crash would rattle public confidence, but it shouldn’t trigger panic.

“Although the Dreamliner has been the subject of some safety concerns in the recent past, this is the type’s first hull loss accident,” Mr Tonkin said.

“Boeing has been struggling to resurrect its reputation after a number of high-profile problems, and this accident will likely further impact industry confidence — whether that’s customer airlines or the travelling public.”

More recently, Boeing has been hit by a string of high-profile controversies.

In May 2024, the FAA confirmed it was reinspecting all 787s still in production, and reviewing those in service.

The announcement came weeks after whistleblower Sam Salehpour, a former Boeing engineer, alleged sections of the 787’s fuselage were improperly fastened — potentially leading to structural failure.

The Air India plane crash has put the Boeing 787 Dreamliner under fresh scrutiny. Picture: AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool

More than 290 died in the tragic incident. Picture: AFP @ashlovetea / ESN via AFPTV

Boeing denied the claims and said extensive inspections had revealed no signs of fatigue across nearly 700 aircraft.

Dr Fatemeh Salehi, Associate Professor at Macquarie University’s faculty of science and engineering, said that while the tragedy was deeply concerning, accidents of this nature remain exceedingly rare.

“This is a very tragic disaster, and aircraft accidents during takeoff are extremely rare. The most probable scenario appears to be the failure of both engines, which is a very uncommon occurrence in aviation,” she said.

“From a safety and risk perspective, aviation maintains some of the highest safety protocols in industry, alongside the nuclear sector. “The goal is always to minimise the chance of accidents and make them as close to zero as possible.”

Inside a Qantas 787 Dreamliner. Picture: Qantas

In March 2024, another whistleblower — John Barnett, who had previously worked at Boeing’s 787 plant in South Carolina — was found dead from a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound.

In 2019, he had accused the company of using substandard parts in Dreamliners to speed up production, claims Boeing also denied.

The Dreamliner has also been involved in several in-flight scares. In March that same year, a Latam Airlines 787 flying to New Zealand suddenly plunged mid-flight, injuring at least 50 people.

Professor Rico Merkert, chair in transport and supply chain management at the University of Sydney, said that while the Dreamliner had experienced previous technical issues, its overall record remained solid.

“While the Boeing 787 Dreamliner has been involved in a number of newsworthy incidents, batteries catching fire in the US in 2013, a fuel leak at Norwegian in 2014, dropping 300 feet on a flight from Sydney to Auckland in 2024, this is the first fatal accident,” he said.

“As such, to me it suggests that this aircraft is still safe and that flying is still the safest mode of transport, especially long-haul.”

The tragedy comes as Boeing faces renewed scrutiny over its safety culture, with the company still dealing with the fallout from two deadly crashes involving its 737 Max aircraft in 2018 and 2019, which killed 346 people. However, just last month, Boeing reached a deal with the US Justice Department to avoid criminal prosecution over those incidents.

Originally published as Air India crash: How safe is the Boeing 787 Dreamliner?