Air India Crash Prompts Boeing Top Execs, Including CEO Ortberg, To Cancel Paris Air Show Visit

Boeing (BA) CEO Kelly Ortberg and Stephanie Pope, head of the planemaker’s commercial airplanes division, have scrapped their plans to attend the Paris Air Show next week in the aftermath of Thursday's fatal Air India crash.

According to a Reuters report, citing a memo to staff, Ortberg and Pope will not travel to the French Capital "so we can be with our team and focus on our customer and the investigation."

More than 240 people lost their lives when a Boeing 787-8 aircraft, operating under Flight AI171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, crashed into a medical college near the airport, moments after takeoff.

This was the first fatal accident involving a 787 plane, known as Dreamliners, since they entered service in 2011.

The Paris Air Show, which begins on Monday, is the aviation industry’s largest trade show and typically sees several deals between aircraft manufacturers and airlines.

The incident will likely limit near-term upside associated with the historical stock outperformance during the week of the airshow, RBC Capital analysts noted, according to TheFly.

Reuters reported, citing a delegate, that some order announcements could be delayed until later in the year as a mark of respect for accident victims.

The move was similar to that of engine-maker GE Aerospace, which postponed its investor day from June 17. The company's engines power the 787-8 aircraft.

Bernstein analyst Douglas Harned noted that the flight path after takeoff of the aircraft shows a slow rate of climb, before a rapid descent, suggesting a loss of power on takeoff, which would most likely be traced to the engines. 

However, he said that the GEnx engine has a strong record of reliability and errors in "maintenance performance" is always a possibility in situations like this.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits was still in the ‘bullish’ (74/100) territory, while retail chatter was ‘high.'

Boeing stock has gained over 14% this year.

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