A Boeing 737 operated by Air Senegal experienced a runway incident at Blaise Diagne International Airport in Dakar, Senegal on May 9, 2024. The plane, which was headed to Bamako with 85 people onboard including two pilots and four cabin crew, skidded off the runway during takeoff. At least ten people were injured as a result of the incident.
The damaged Boeing 737-300 from Air Senegal, which was chartered from TransAir, had one engine broken apart and a wing damaged. The plane was surrounded by fire suppressant foam after the incident.
This is not the first time a Boeing 737 has been involved in an incident at a Turkish airport. On May 8, 2024, a Boeing 737-800 belonging to Corendon Airlines experienced a tyre burst during landing at Gazipasa Airport in Turkey. All passengers and crew were safely evacuated from the aircraft.
Both incidents come as Boeing faces intense scrutiny over its safety record following a series of incidents involving its 737s. In January 2024, a door panel blew out of a Boeing 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight. The incident followed two crashes of Boeing 737 MAX jets in 2018 and 2019 that killed a total of 346 people.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is currently investigating whether employees at Boeing falsified inspection records for the 787 Dreamliner. The FAA gave Boeing until May 31, 2024 to come up with a plan to fix quality problems and meet safety standards for building planes.
The incidents have raised concerns about the safety of Boeing aircraft and the company's manufacturing processes. Airports around the world have been on high alert following recent incidents involving Boeing planes.
