A United Airlines Boeing 737 was forced to make an emergency return to Fukuoka Airport in Japan after a defective wing flap sent it back on the ground just minutes after takeoff, another safety issue for the aircraft company.
Flight 166, which was on its way to Guam, had on board 50 tourists when pilots issued an emergency call and landed the plane safely at the point of origin. The wing flap problem required the sudden cancellation of a flight that was to take less than four hours. This incident adds to a worrying week for Boeing, with four such incidents involving their aircraft reported within three days.
In a report highlighting the quality of their 787 Dreamliner, the company wrote, “In 13 years of service, the global 787 fleet has safely carried more than 850 million passengers on over 4.2 million flights.” The report continued with, A 787 can safely operate for a minimum of 30 years before requiring extended airframe maintenance cycles. We have complete confidence in the safety and longevity of the 787 Dreamliner.
A Corendon Airlines Boeing 737-800 had a burst tire when it landed at Gazipasa airport, and a 737-300 veered off the runway and burned in Senegal. A Boeing 767 freighter plane also made news with a spectacular emergency landing at Istanbul Airport when its leading landing gear collapsed.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has already launched an investigation into forged records of inspections at a South Carolina factory. The occurrences also follow reports of Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun’s departure later this year, amidst a background of plummeting stock prices.
Aside from raising concerns regarding Boeing’s technical performance of its fleet, the internal culture and operating priorities of the company have also been questioned. Even a TikToker created a two-minute tutorial on “How not to fly on a Boeing 737 MAX” referencing FlightRadar24 and FlightAware as resources for steering clear of “Dreamliners catching fire” and the 737 model.
The series of accidents has been said to have caused some flyers avoiding Boeing planes or opting for anti-anxiety medication while flying. In the wake of these reports, no injuries were recorded in the recent Fukuoka forced landing, and none of the other recent mishaps involving Boeing aircraft involved fatalities.
