On Tuesday Eastern Time, Boeing is about to end a miserable year. Its stock price has fallen by more than 32% for the whole year, and it is bound to become the biggest loser in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Boeing opened at $257.50 in 2024. However, on January 5, an inline door of an Alaska Airlines 737 Max aircraft fell off during flight. Since then, U.S. federal regulators have restricted Boeing's aircraft production.
As of the end of September, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) limited monthly production of 737 aircraft to 38 aircraft, citing safety and quality issues, and Boeing's stock price was hovering around $211.
At the end of the year, Boeing encountered another extremely tragic incident. On December 29, a Boeing 737-800 operated by South Korea's Jeju Airlines overran the runway during landing at Muan International Airport in the southwest of the country, collided with the airport fence, and exploded, bursting into flames. According to the Korea Fire Department, except for 2 people who were rescued when a South Korean passenger plane collided and caught fire, all 179 people on board were killed.
It's unclear what caused the crash, an investigation could take months, and there's no evidence that Boeing's manufacturing was to blame.
"We are in contact with Jeju Air and stand ready to provide support to them," Boeing said in a statement. "We offer our deepest condolences to the families who lost their loved ones, and our hearts are with the passengers and crew."
Even if the latest crash turns out not to be Boeing's fault, it still marks the end of a horrific year for the troubled plane maker. Unlike the South Korean crash, most of these problems are clearly Boeing's fault.
A series of scandals led to the ouster of the company's CEO and several other high-profile executives, and endless negative press raised serious questions about the company's ability to control safety and quality issues.
In addition, Boeing's troubles go far beyond that. In the first half of the year, two Boeing whistleblowers died unexpectedly, attracting global attention. Later, multiple "whistleblowers" came forward to accuse the company of deliberately using defective parts in its aircraft.
In June, American astronauts Wilmore and Williams boarded the first manned test flight of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station. However, due to problems such as propeller failure and helium leakage, the return time was repeatedly delayed and they are still stranded in space. This has dealt a serious blow to Boeing's reputation.
In September, more than 32,000 Boeing mechanics went on strike after rejecting a preliminary labor agreement. The nearly seven-week strike has halted production of most of Boeing's passenger planes, including its best-selling 737 Max model.
According to research firm Anderson Economic Group, Boeing's strike is the most costly strike in the United States in the 21st century, costing the company, workers and suppliers more than $11.5 billion.