5 Infamous Deadly Incidents Involving Boeing Aircraft
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3 July 2024 17:53 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A series of incidents involving commercial aircraft manufactured by The Boeing Company has put a huge stain on the reputation of the century-old company. So far this year, there have been four consecutive incidents involving Boeing, with the latest development being that the United States Department of Justice is prosecuting Boeing for a fatal crash involving a 737 MAX jet in 2021.
Founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing, Donald Douglas, James H., and James S. McDonnell, in 1967, the aircraft manufacturing giant achieved fame after launching the B737, touted as its most successful model and became the world's best-selling airplane in 1987, The Atlantic wrote.
Over time, Boeing has been involved in several accidents attributed to human error, mystery, to design failure. The following are five of the most headline-grabbing accidents involving Boeing aircraft over the decades.
- Tenerife airport disaster (1977)
According to Britannica, on March 27, 1977, two Boeing 747 airliners collided on the runway. Both planes were scheduled to depart from Las Palmas, but a terrorist incident that day caused the planes to be diverted to Tenerife Airport. A congested runway and foggy weather contributed to the collision, which killed a total of 580 people on board.
- Japan Airlines Flight 123 (1985)
Considered one of the deadliest Boeing accidents in history, the 1985 Japan Airlines Flight 123 incident occurred 12 minutes after the plane took off from Tokyo's Haneda Airport en route to Osaka. According to businessinsider.com, the plane's rear fuselage suddenly exploded, damaging the pilot's controls and cutting off the engine's hydraulic system. The plane remained airborne for 30 minutes before crashing, killing 505 passengers and 15 crew members.
- Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 (2014)
Missing for 10 years, the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has yet to see the light of day. The plane, with 239 people on board, was declared missing on March 8, 2014, 39 minutes after taking off from Kuala Lumpur. As reported by apnews.com, there is still no certainty as to what caused the Malaysian flight MH370 to lose contact. Some theorized that it was hijacked, some suggested a loss of oxygen in the cabin, others thought it could be a power failure.
- Lion Air crash into Karawang waters (2018)
On October 29, 2018, Lion Air's Flight 610 crashed into the Java Sea 13 minutes after takeoff, killing all 189 people on board. The Boeing 737 MAX aircraft was flying from Jakarta to Pangkalpinang from Soekarno-Hatta Airport. In a recent hearing with U.S. lawmakers, Boeing has taken responsibility for the development of a key software system linked to the fatal crash. At the start of the hearing, Boeing CEO David Calhoun addressed the families of the crash victims. "I apologize for the grief we have caused," he said.
- Latam Airlines (2024)
The most recent incident involving Boeing commercial airplanes was the March 14 sudden nosedive of a B787-9 operated by Chilean airline LATAM during a flight from Sydney, Australia, to Auckland, New Zealand. The incident, which injured 50 of the 263 passengers on board, was the fourth in a row for Boeing in the first half of the year. In addition to paying for the damage, the jet manufacturer now faces criminal charges.
Melinda Kusuma Ningrum
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