New Delhi

It's been a tough road for Boeing. But an even tougher road for the travellers caught in this turbulence. Many have lost 'confidence' in flying, as safety incidents become a daily occurrence.

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Boeing's fallout with safety began in 2018. Since then, many safety lapses have been recorded. The issues amplified in January after the mid-air incident involving an Alaska Airlines 737 plane.

That incident triggered a domino effect, with multiple lapses recorded across months. Just to give you an example of how everyday events have become, yesterday saw a Southwest Boeing 737 diving below 500 ft over Oklahoma and a Malaysian Airlines plane catching fire in the air. One can track Boeing's mishaps across the year and make infinite collages out of it.

What makes matters worse for Boeing are the whistleblower allegations, which affirmed the lack of safety regulations and even 'foul play' to cut costs.

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This turbulence in the air led to a lot of regulatory scrutiny and a subsequent leadership shakeup. Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun announced his departure by year-end but is facing legal heat with the Justice Department over potential violations of a 2021 settlement related to the two deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019.

CEO Calhoun's Senate hearing was attended by the relatives of the crash victims, who were unfazed by Calhoun's apology. He said, 'Before I begin my opening remarks, I would like to speak directly to those who lost loved ones on Lion Air Flight 610 and the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. I would like to apologize on behalf of all of our Boeing associates spread throughout the world, past and present for your losses.' He added, 'They are gut wrenching and I apologize for the grief that we have caused. And I want you to know we are totally committed in their memory, to work and focus on safety for as long, as long as we're employed by Boeing. So, again, I'm sorry.'

Senator Richard Blumenthal voiced strong concerns over Boeing's commitment to safety. He said, 'You have a duty to demand the highest safety standards and insist that every installation is properly documented and ensure that speak up means, in fact, speak up, not shut up, as it is meant all too often. Boeing needs to stop thinking about the next earning call and start thinking about the next generation.'

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The Justice Department has to contemplate either a criminal trial or bail plea for Boeing. Latest reports suggest that Boeing might evade a criminal prosecution with a deferred prosecution agreement. It's often used to strengthen oversight on businesses accused of corruption instead of putting them on trial. Officials reportedly believe this would be a quicker and more efficient solution rather than prosecuting Boeing.

But if Boeing is convicted of criminal fraud, then it would lose all government & military contracts. This can further dent the company's image and revenues already tainted amid ongoing safety challenges.

Meanwhile, Boeing's safety mishaps have hit the 'stratosphere.' Boeing's ambitious space project, the Starliner, is suffering from major safety lapses, leading to an indefinite delay back to Earth. NASA announced on Friday that more time is needed to assess the technical issues encountered during the mission. Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, the two astronauts aboard, are now stuck in uncertainty as no return date has been announced.

This is even true for Boeing, which now faces an uncertain future with no clear timeline.