South Korean plane crash another huge blow for Boeing

The fatal crash of a twin-engine Boeing 737-800 in South Korea is the latest blow to the embattled aircraft manufacturer.

The fatal crash of a twin-engine Boeing 737-800, operated by Jeju Air, is the latest blow to the American aircraft manufacturer.

Although the cause of the incident, which killed 179 people at an airport in South Korea, is unknown, it ends a turbulent year for Boeing.

The crash comes almost 12 months after the Alaska Airlines door plug incident, when a panel blew off a 737 Max jet in mid-flight. Miraculously, no one was seriously hurt.

Firefighters and rescue teams work at the wreckage of the passenger plane at Muan International Airport. Picture: Getty Images

The Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 series aircraft crashed and burst into flames at Muan International Airport. Picture: AFP

That lucky escape provided a swift reminder that Boeing was a long way from fixing the production issues that had been brought to a head by two fatal crashes involving two similar Max aircraft that had left 346 people dead.

In 2018 a Boeing 737 Max 8 plunged into the Java Sea off Indonesia minutes after take-off from Jakarta, killing all 189 people on board. In 2019 another Max crashed after taking off from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, killing 157 passengers and crew members.

The missing emergency door of Alaska Airlines N704AL, a 737 Max 9, which made an emergency landing at Portland International Airport in a previous Boeing incident. Picture: AFP

Health workers with body bags after Sriwijaya Air flight SJ182 crashed in Jakarta. Picture: AFP

Rescue personnel carry a piece of wreckage recovered from the crash site of Sriwijaya Air flight SJ182 in 2021. Picture: AFP

All Boeing Max planes were subsequently grounded, and a toxic corporate culture - a mix of cost-cutting and safety shortcuts - was exposed. After the Alaska incident, regulators imposed caps on Boeing’s production of Max aircraft, which underlined the limits to the company’s turnaround under its chief executive at the time, David Calhoun, who took charge in 2020 following the two fatal Max crashes.

As major customers, including the Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary, complained that the company had “more work to do to improve quality”, the share price plunged by nearly a third this year to dollars 180.72.

Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae and other executive members bow in apology ahead of a briefing in Seoul after the crash. Picture: AFP

Kelly Ortberg, the chief executive who replaced Calhoun in August, has pledged to restore “trust” in the business - a promise not helped by a seven-week strike by about 30,000 Boeing workers. In October he asked investors to pump about dollars 19 billion into the troubled company to bolster its balance sheet and protect its investment-grade credit rating from being cut to junk status.

Commenting on the crash in South Korea, a spokesman for Boeing said: “We are in contact with Jeju Air regarding flight 2216 and stand ready to support them. We extend our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones, and our thoughts remain with the passengers and crew.”

This story was originally published on The Times.

Originally published as South Korean plane crash another huge blow for Boeing