Boeing stock drops sharply after Air India crash

Boeing shares sank 8% in early trading Thursday after news broke that an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, India.

According to MarketWatch data, before markets opened at 6:10 a.m. Eastern, Boeing shares had already fallen by $17.12, or 8%, trading at $196.81 on about 563,400 shares. The day before, the stock closed at $214.00, down $1.73 (0.8%), with 5.4 million shares, about 60% of its 65-day average volume of 9.06 million.

The steep drop came after an Air India passenger jet carrying 244 people crashed on Thursday in the northwestern Indian city, reported by Reuters. Smoke was seen rising from the site near Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, heightening concerns over the safety of the 787 Dreamliner fleet.

Officials said Air India flight AI 171, a Boeing 787-8 bound for London’s Gatwick Airport, went down in the Meghani Nagar neighborhood five minutes after taking off at 1:38 p.m. local time. Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, director general of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, reported there were 232 passengers and 12 crew members on board.

London’s Gatwick Airport confirmed on its social media account X that the flight, due to arrive at 6:25 p.m. local time, had crashed shortly after departure. India’s Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu posted on X that rescue teams were working at the scene and that medical aid and relief support were being provided.

“We are on highest alert. I am personally monitoring the situation,” Kinjarapu wrote, urging swift action by all agencies involved.

Boeing restarts deliveries to China after trade tensions ease

In a separate development, the plane maker has resumed deliveries of 737 MAX jets to China after a two-month halt tied to U.S.-China tariff disputes. Flight tracking data showed a new 737 MAX in Xiamen Airlines colors landed Monday at Boeing’s completion center in Zhoushan, China, after flying from Seattle with stops in Hawaii and Guam.

Deliveries to Chinese carriers paused in April when Washington and Beijing imposed higher tariffs on new aircraft amid a trade spat. Boeing announced at the end of May that a 90-day rollback of those tariffs would allow deliveries to resume in June.

China accounts for about 10% of Boeing’s commercial backlog, making it a crucial market. Officials from Beijing and Washington are set to meet in London on Monday to discuss broader trade issues.

In April, Boeing repatriated at least three 737 MAX jets from Zhoushan to the United States. The first to return was the same aircraft that landed this week. The company has said it may seek to resell dozens of undelivered planes, but has yet to move most of them out of storage.

Beijing has not explained why deliveries halted so abruptly, only noting that Chinese carriers and Boeing were both hurt by U.S. tariffs. In April, Boeing expected to deliver 50 jets to Chinese airlines this year, with 41 already in production or built.

On May 14, Boeing stock reacted positively with a 1% gain after Qatar Airways signed a deal to buy jets from Boeing during President Trump’s visit to Doha. Trump called the agreement “one of the largest in the history of American aviation,” worth about $200 billion.

He said the deal would include 160 jets, costing over $200 billion, and praised the two countries’ firm economic partnership. Boeing and GE Aerospace later added that the deal could cover up to 210 aircraft, including both the 787 Dreamliner and the new 777X models.

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