Another scandal has hit Boeing, as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was left stranded in Davos, Switzerland after his Boeing plane suffered a major malfunction, leaving it unable to fly back to the United States as planned.
Blinken was in Davos for the annual World Economic Forum and was scheduled to fly back to Washington on Wednesday. However, the Boeing 737 that he and his team boarded was deemed unsafe to fly due to a previously detected oxygen leak that could not be repaired. This forced the group to disembark and find another way back home.
A smaller jet was dispatched from Brussels to Zurich to pick up Blinken, while other members of his delegation had to take a commercial flight back to Washington.
This latest incident adds to the ongoing troubles for Boeing, which has seen its stock fall 22% so far this year. The company’s reputation has been deeply tarnished following a series of scandals, and the recent incident with Blinken’s plane is just the latest blow.
This malfunction comes in the wake of a separate incident involving an Alaskan Airlines 737 MAX 9 passenger plane that had to make an emergency return after a door burst at an altitude of 16,000 feet, causing a large hole in the side of the plane.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered a temporary grounding of 171 Boeing 737 MAX 9 passenger aircraft operated by American Airlines or within the United States for safety inspections. This was followed by reports from Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, who found loose parts and bolts that needed to be repaired during inspections.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun acknowledged that “mistakes” led to the accidents, raising further concerns about the company’s quality control. The Boeing MAX has already become one of the most notorious jet models in the history of commercial aviation, and it was grounded for nearly two years after two fatal crashes in 2019.
The FAA has begun inspections of the first 40 Boeing 737 MAX 9 passenger planes and will thoroughly review the data to determine whether the aircraft can resume flying once all inspections are complete. However, Wells Fargo issued a report downgrading Boeing’s stock and expressing doubts that the FAA would not suspend operations without major findings from its investigation.
Boeing’s ongoing issues with quality control and engineering have raised significant concerns, and it remains to be seen how the company will navigate these latest challenges.