Boeing shares drop 8% after Air India plane crash

Shares of US aerospace giant Boeing fell nearly 8% in premarket trading on Thursday after an Air India aircraft carrying 242 people crashed shortly after take-off from the western Indian city of Ahmedabad, reports Reuters.

India’s federal health minister said “many people” were killed in the crash. The aircraft, en route to Gatwick Airport in the UK, went down in a civilian area near Ahmedabad airport, according to police sources.

Aviation tracking platform Flightradar24 confirmed the plane was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner—one of the most advanced passenger aircraft currently in service.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known. Boeing, in a brief statement, said it was aware of initial reports and was gathering more information.

The 787 series is considered one of Boeing’s newer and safer jets, with no history of fatal crashes. While battery malfunctions temporarily grounded the fleet in the past, those incidents did not result in injuries.

The latest crash comes as Boeing continues efforts to restore confidence in the safety of its jets and ramp up production under new CEO Kelly Orthberg.

Boeing’s shares were down about 7.5%, trading at $197.82 in early US market hours.

“It’s a knee-jerk reaction to the incident, and it revives concerns about the issues that have plagued Boeing and its aircraft in recent years,” said Chris Beauchamp, an analyst at IG Group.