Ortberg Cancels Visit to Paris Airshow as GE Aerospace Postpones Investor Day

Boeing and GE Aerospace are taking a step out of the public eye after both of their tech went down in an Air India crash on June 12. Both companies cited a need to focus on investigating the accident, which left more than 240 people dead.

The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was scheduled to operate as AI 171 from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (AMB) to London Gatwick Airport (LGW). It took off at around 1:38 pm local time with 242 souls on board.

Just seconds after taking off, the twin-engine widebody began to lose altitude at a rate of around 425 feet per minute while in a nose-high pitch attitude. The pilot made a rapid “mayday” call to air traffic controllers before the aircraft impacted the ground, less than a mile from the runway.

Current counts indicate that more than 290 people were killed in the accident, including at least 241 people from the aircraft and more on the ground. Air India noted that 169 were from India, 53 from Britain, 7 from Portugal, and 1 from Canada.

Later on the night of the crash, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg and executive VP Stephanie Pope sent a message to staff members that they would no longer be attending the Paris Airshow to “be with our team and focus on our customer and the investigation.” This would have been Ortberg’s first appearance with the CEO title at the iconic event.

GE Aerospace, which manufactured the engines for the crashed 787, is also taking a step back from public activities. It called off its June 17 investor day and shared that it was assembling a team to go out to the accident location.

"GE Aerospace's senior leadership is focused on supporting our customers and the investigation," it said.

FMI: www.boeing.com, www.geaerospace.com