Boeing (BA +0.47%) stock just can't catch a break. For years, the airplane company has been plagued by problems with its 787 and 787 MAX airliners. Now, as 2024 draws to an end and 2025 begins, the spotlight turns to Boeing's workhorse 737-800.
On Sunday, a Boeing 737-800, operated as Jeju Air Flight 2216, crash-landed wheels up at Muan International Airport in South Korea, killing almost all people aboard. This morning, a second Jeju Air 737-800, Flight 7C101, was forced to return to Seoul after reporting "a landing gear problem."
Now, South Korea has grounded all 737-800s in the country for inspection. Boeing stock is down 3.7% through 10 a.m. ET..
NYSE: BA
Key Data Points
Is this a Boeing problem, an airline problem, or an airport problem?
Details on both incidents are still being clarified. In the case of Flight 2216, the airplane apparently aborted its first landing attempt, then suffered a bird strike on its second attempt. It's unclear at what point the plane's wheels failed to deploy. Additionally, the pilots conducted a textbook belly landing of the plane; disaster only arrived when the plane slid into a concrete wall at the end of the landing strip and exploded.
In the case of Flight 7C101, the "landing gear problem" seems to have resolved itself, but the plane returned to Seoul out of an abundance of caution.
How bad is this for Boeing?
That's the real issue for Boeing, I fear. The problem with the 737-800 itself is small. Korea only has 101 737-800s flying, and Jeju flies 39 of them. With both reported incidents involving Jeju, this suggests the issue may lie more with Jeju's maintenance practices than with the quality of the Boeing product.
But even if this were a Boeing problem, Boeing isn't trying hard to sell more 737-800s. Out of 6,268 airplanes on order in the company's current backlog, only a dozen are 737-800s.
The big worry is that, just like the flight crew on Flight 7C101 reversed course out of an abundance of caution, Boeing's continued presence in negative headlines could cause the company's customers to think twice about buying from the company -- any kind of Boeing.
