New scare for Boeing! A plane bound for New York forced to make an emergency stop on takeoff in Dakar. Passengers are…
This is a chilling incident. This Saturday, October 19, a Boeing chartered by the American company Delta Airlines bound for New York had to make an emergency stop when taking off from Blaise Diagne international airport in Dakar, Senegal. Fortunately, all 213 passengers on board are safe and sound.
An emergency takeoff maneuver
According to the Senegalese Ministry of Air Transport, the plane was taking off when it had to perform an acceleration maneuver followed by an emergency stop due to a technical incident. The pilot was able to safely stop the aircraft on the runway.
Passengers were quickly picked up and transported to hotels for the night. Their flight to New York was postponed until the next day, Sunday October 20. A stressful situation but which ended well thanks to the coolness of the crew.
In-depth investigations to come
The Senegalese aviation authorities, the National Civil Aviation Agency and the Bureau of Investigation and Analysis, will now carry out in-depth investigations to determine the exact causes of this technical incident. Boeing will once again have to explain itself.
Because this is unfortunately not the first time that a Boeing plane has encountered difficulties in recent times. Last May, at the same Dakar airport, a Boeing 737 chartered by a private company left the runway, injuring 11 people. The infrastructure had to be temporarily closed.
The safety of our passengers is our top priority. We are doing everything we can to understand what happened and prevent it from happening again.
A Delta Airlines spokesperson
Boeing sous pression
This umpteenth incident once again puts Boeing under pressure. The American aeronautical giant has already had to face numerous controversies in recent years, particularly after the two fatal accidents involving 737 MAXs in 2018 and 2019. Dramas which highlighted serious failures.
Since then, Boeing has been trying to restore its image by increasing measures to strengthen the safety of its aircraft. But each new incident, even as minor as that in Dakar, revives doubts about the reliability of Boeing-branded planes.
The conclusions of the investigation into this emergency stop will therefore be closely scrutinized. Boeing no longer has room for error to regain the trust of passengers, airlines and regulatory authorities. The future of the Seattle giant could depend on it.
