A bad thing happened to another Boeing plane on Thursday. A 737-300 operated by the Senegalese carrier Transair skidded off the runway while ablaze at Blaise Diagne International Airport in Dakar, Senegal. A statement from Senegal’s Ministry of Infrastructure, Land and Air Transport posted on the social media platform X by the Gambian media outlet Kerr Fatou says that 10 people were injured, including the pilot, and were taken to the hospital.
The Associated Press reports that the Malian musician Cheick Siriman Sissoko wrote on Facebook that “our plane just caught fire.” Reuters reports that videos posted on social media indicate the left wing was in flames.
The injuries appear related to the plane’s sudden deceleration and not from fire. It is not immediately apparent what caused the fire, though Senegal’s Bureau of Investigation and Analysis has begun an inquiry.
Boeing surely doesn’t need another PR headache in the wake of the fallout from a door plug falling off an Alaska Airlines-operated 737 Max 9 this January mid-flight, but alas. The plane in the January incident is a different aircraft from the 737-300, which is an older model.
The Justice Department has opened a criminal inquiry into the Alaska Airlines flight and informed passengers that they may have been victims of a crime. CEO Dave Calhoun announced that he will be stepping down from his post at the end of the year. Though Calhoun intends to stick around as a member of the company’s board of directors, the proxy advisor Glass Lewis says that it isn’t a good idea.
“We believe it’s reasonable to assume that the board will understand the implication of shareholders voting against the Company’s outgoing CEO and key directors with oversight of the safety culture and risks; that is, that shareholders will be sending a clear indication of discontent regarding the Company’s recent oversight and handling of safety issues and safety culture,” the organization said in a report.
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