On Sunday, Boeing acknowledged a software problem with its B737 MAX aircraft, the same model that crashed twice in less than six months in October 2018 and March 2019, claiming all lives on board in both instances. These incidents led to the aircraft’s global grounding for 20 months. Even as the exact safety impact of the current glitch is still being understood, tough questions need to be asked. Indian aviation is still carrying the weight of Air India Flight 171
On Sunday, Boeing acknowledged a software problem with its B737 MAX aircraft, the same model that crashed twice in less than six months in October 2018 and March 2019, claiming all lives on board in both instances. These incidents led to the aircraft’s global grounding for 20 months. Even as the exact safety impact of the current glitch is still being understood, tough questions need to be asked. Indian aviation is still carrying the weight of Air India Flight 171 — a Boeing 787-8 aircraft — that took off in June 2025 from Ahmedabad and crashed within minutes, killing all but one of the 242 people on board along with many on the ground. The Indian flier’s trust in Boeing aircraft has since dwindled.
With 96 B737 MAX airplanes in their fleet, Indian operators, therefore, have significant stakes in this matter and must push Boeing to correct the glitch and demonstrate the aircraft’s safety. They must also put their fleet expansion, pegged on B737 MAX, on hold till all safety concerns are satisfactorily addressed. At the same time, India’s civil aviation regulator will also need to carry out an independent assessment of the aircraft’s risks rather than rely solely on the US Federal Aviation Administration — and be transparent about its findings (the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has been far from that in the AI-171 case).
In a rapidly expanding duopolistic global aviation market, in which India is a big player, Boeing and its European rival Airbus are struggling with their output and there’s an incentive for them to accord less rigour to quality checks in the interest of speed. Manufacturers must not be allowed to skip the safety test queues to maximise profits.
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