Following reports of an Air India crash, shares of the aircraft manufacturer Boeing dropped by 8% in premarket U.S. trading on Thursday. The incident involved a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, one of the company’s most advanced models, which crashed shortly after departing from Ahmedabad in western India with 242 people aboard.
According to aviation tracking service Flightradar24, the aircraft was a Boeing 787-8. Air India confirmed the plane was flying to London’s Gatwick Airport. Police reported that the aircraft went down in a civilian area close to the airport, but did not immediately confirm if there were any casualties. The cause of the crash has not yet been determined.
In a statement, Boeing acknowledged the initial reports and stated it was working to gather more details. The news emerges as the aerospace company, under its new Chief Executive Officer Kelly Orthberg, is actively trying to restore confidence in its aircraft’s safety while increasing production.
Boeing’s stock was trading at approximately $196.52, down about 8%, before the market opened. Chris Beauchamp, an analyst at IG Group, characterized the stock’s decline as a “knee-jerk reaction” to the news, suggesting it reignited recent fears about problems that have previously affected the planemaker and its aircraft.
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