India, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Gatwick Airport
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In the wake of the Air India flight that crashed moments after take off last week leaving just one survivor, two other Boeing 787s turned around shortly after taking off on June 16, one from Heathrow and another from Hong Kong.
An Air India Boeing 787-8 flight headed for New Delhi returned to Hong Kong shortly after takeoff Monday because of a "technical issue," Indian media reported.
The crash happened just weeks after the company cut a deal with the U.S. government to avoid taking criminal responsibility for a pair of deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019.
It’s also the latest disaster to hit the beleaguered American aerospace giant — which has been dogged by a door that blew off a 737 jet, a leaky spacecraft that stranded astronauts on the International Space Station for months, as well as politically damaging delays in outfitting the new Air Force One jets.
The Air India flight, carrying 242 passengers and crew members, crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, India, en route to London Gatwick.
Last year, the F.A.A. said it was also investigating claims by a Boeing engineer that parts of the fuselage, or body, of the Dreamliner were improperly fastened together, which the whistle-blower said could cause premature damage to the plane over years of use.
An Air India flight was forced to turn around and return to Hong Kong after an unspecified technical issue was discovered with the aircraft. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner— the same craft involved in last week’s devastating crash in Ahmedabad which killed 270 people—was an hour into a flight to New Delhi when the pilot suspected a problem and turned around.
Boeing is forecasting strong growth in aviation despite recent crash, with demand for 43,600 new planes by 2044.