The devastating Air India crash seems certain to embroil Boeing in further rounds of negative headlines at a time when it has shown progress under new leadership.Shares of the American plane manufacturer finished down nearly five percent Thursday as the pope, King Charles and the president of India expressed sorrow over the Boeing 787 Dreamliner carrying 242 people.”Our deepest condolences go out to the loved ones of the passengers and crew on board Air India Flight 171, as well as everyone affected in Ahmedabad,” said Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, adding in a statement that he told Air India’s chairman Boeing would support the probe.The calamity, the first deadly crash of a 787, comes just before Ortberg and other aerospace leaders converge at Le Bourget Airport for next week’s Paris Air Show.Prior to Thursday, industry insiders expected the focus at Le Bourget to include the aviation sector’s adaptation to trade tensions, the latest state-of-the-art flying technologies and the outlook for any improvement in the supply chain that has slowed deliveries from Boeing and rival Airbus.But the crash is also certain to be a major topic of conversation, as well as a source of speculation and sobriety.”A week from now there probably will be one or two operating hypothesis of what happened that people at the show and the public will be talking about,” said Morningstar analyst Nicolas Owens. Only time will tell what the accident means for Boeing, but Owens still expects the company to rack up additional 787 orders next week in Paris.”It’s highly improbable that people conclude that it’s a systemic problem with the engine or the plane,” he said.- MAX crashes different -Air India’s flight 171 issued a mayday call and crashed “immediately after takeoff,” the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said.British and US investigators were en route to western India for an investigation expected to involve reviews of flight data, maintenance records and the background of the crew. “When an international incident occurs, that government leads the investigation,” said the US Federal Aviation Administration.The ill-fated plane was delivered to Air India in 2014 and had more than 41,000 hours of flying time, according to consultancy Cirium.That makes Thursday’s tragedy different from the two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that involved planes Boeing had only recently delivered to airlines.A central factor in both MAX crashes was the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), a flight handling system that badly malfunctioned, pointing to design flaws.The MAX crashes plunged Boeing into a years-long slump extended by fresh safety problems early in 2024. Boeing has reported annual losses the last six years.Since introducing the Dreamliner into service in 2011, Boeing has had to do some reworks, mainly due to assembly faults and manufacturing quality issues.The plane was also scrutinized in an April 2024 US Senate hearing that aired criticism from a whistleblower who testified that he was blackballed after reporting serious manufacturing defects on the 787 and the 777.Attorneys representing the whistleblower, Sam Salehpour, called on the FAA to release its findings about the allegations.”The FAA must assure the public that the Boeing 787 is safe,” said attorney Lisa Banks.”While it may take months or years to determine the cause of today’s tragic Air India crash, we know that there is an important report sitting on a desk at the FAA about the 787 that needs to become public.”On May 29, Ortberg told a financial conference that the recent approval by US aviation authorities to allow increased 787 output was “an important milestone” in the company’s comeback.Ortberg, who relocated to Seattle to be closer to key manufacturing operations, has generally won plaudits from aviation watchers since joining in August 2024, navigating Boeing through a labor strike and joining President Donald Trump’s Middle East delegation.Richard Aboulafia, managing director at consultancy AeroDynamic Advisory, said there is no indication of a 787 design flaw. “There’s inevitably fear,” Aboulafia said of Thursday’s stock market reaction.”It’s a tragedy but it’s unlikely to affect perceptions of the 787 because there’s nothing known at this point and it’s got a very good record,” he said.But Briefing.com called the crash “another significant blow to Boeing’s reputation as it competes fiercely with Airbus, which has outsold Boeing in aircraft orders for the past five years and could further erode investor and customer trust in the company’s ability to deliver safe, reliable aircraft.”

After protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles, President Donald Trump took the contentious step of mobilizing thousands of National Guard troops and hundreds of US Marines in response.While the use of the National Guard against the California governor’s wishes is significant, in general these military personnel are trained for rapid response to emergencies within the United States.- Military reserve force -The National Guard is a military reserve force within the United States Armed Forces, meaning that most of its members serve part-time while holding civilian jobs or conducting other activities.As a response force, the National Guard can be mobilized rapidly to address emergency situations on US soil, typically natural disasters. When needed, National Guard units can also be activated for deployments into combat zones, especially if the United States is at war.Unlike branches of the US military, the National Guard performs both state- and federal-level functions, and is organized into groupings based in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the US territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands.As a state-based force, generally it is the governor of a state or territory who activates and commands the National Guard when needed.However, in some situations the National Guard can be “federalized” by the president, bringing it under the president’s control until the specific federal mission has ended — as is the case in Los Angeles currently.The latest budget from the Department of Defense authorizes 433,000 National Guard personnel in total, split across the Air National Guard and Army National Guard.This means that compared to other components of the US military, the National Guard is second only to the US Army in terms of size.- Emergency response -National Guard members are typically deployed during emergencies such as natural disasters at the request of governors and based on specific provisions in each state’s laws.In the aftermath of events like hurricanes, wildfires, and floods, state National Guards are often called on to help evacuate dangerous areas, deliver supplies to places that would otherwise be cut off, or provide specialist equipment needed to clear hazardous debris.The largest National Guard deployment in recent years was during the COVID-19 pandemic, where troops helped construct and staff emergency care facilities, transport health supplies around the country, and coordinate other logistics.Outside of a natural disaster, deployment of the guard can be ordered in emergencies created by the breakdown of public order — the provision that Trump controversially invoked when sending troops to California.- History with protest -The use of the National Guard to manage public unrest is not unique to Trump, even if the current deployment is unusual.During the widespread Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, more than half of US states activated National Guard troops to maintain order and help enforce curfews.Before that, they were also deployed to LA in 1992 to respond to riots that occurred after police officers who had beaten motorist Rodney King were acquitted at trial.At that time, riots, looting and arson attacks had spread across the city, with dozens of people killed and thousands injured.The National Guard was deployed during the 1950s and 60s Civil Rights era to help enforce school desegregation, following the Supreme Court’s landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling.In one of the force’s darkest moments, in May 1970, members of the Ohio National Guard clashed with anti-war protesters at Kent State University. As unrest swelled, the troops opened fire, killing four unarmed students.The shootings sparked outrage, but also led to reform of the guard’s use-of-force guidelines.

US President Donald Trump’s dream of hosting a grand military parade in Washington on his 79th birthday on Saturday could be clouded by thunderstorms.Forecasters say there is a threat of lightning at the same time as nearly 6,000 troops, 50 helicopters and 150 armored vehicles are meant to roll through the capital, watched by thousands of spectators.The Republican has been unlucky with the weather before, as freezing conditions meant that his inauguration for a second term in January had to be held indoors and a parade was canceled.The White House vowed that a “historic celebration” of the US army’s 250th birthday would go on even if there were “changes” due to the weather.”Any changes to the Army Birthday Parade will be announced by the Department of Defense or America 250 Commission,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement to AFP.”No matter what, a historic celebration of our military servicemembers will take place!”The army and the America 250 Commission, which is responsible for arranging the parade, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Hundreds of anti-Trump “No Kings” rallies are planned on Saturday in cities across the United States — although not in Washington — in protest against what critics call the president’s growing authoritarianism.- ‘Very big force’ -The rare military parade, the largest since the end of the Gulf War in 1991, comes after Trump sent National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles following protests.Trump said on a visit to an army base on Tuesday that “we want to show off a little bit” with the parade, and vowed “very big force” if protesters try to disrupt it.The army says the event could cost up to $45 million.Nearly 7,000 soldiers will take part, wearing a variety of uniforms including some that date back through all of America’s major wars since the Revolutionary War against Britain.Roaring overhead will be more than 50 helicopters including Apache gunships, giant twin-rotor Chinook transport choppers and sleek Black Hawks.Around 150 military vehicles — including 28 M1A1 Abrams battle tanks, 28 Bradley Fighting Vehicles and 28 Stryker eight-wheel vehicles — will rumble past too.The route will take them past historic landmarks including the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, ending up near the White House.The parade is meant to end with a parachute display as the army’s Golden Knights team jump in and present Trump with a US flag.- ‘Believe in democracy’ -The event is being held on Flag Day, which celebrates the Stars and Stripes — but it also coincides with Trump’s own birthday.Long fascinated with military pomp, Trump has openly envied the military spectacles seen in cities from Paris to Moscow and Pyongyang ever since his first term as president.Trump has been particularly obsessed with having a parade since his first term as president when he attended France’s annual Bastille Day parade in Paris at the invitation of president Emmanuel Macron in 2017.”One of the greatest parades I have ever seen,” Trump said shortly afterwards. “Because of what I witnessed, we may do something like that.” Back then he was put off by the huge cost — an estimated $92 million — and warnings that heavy tanks could damage Washington’s streets. But after his return to the White House in January, Trump would not be dissuaded again. This time, the army says metal plates will protect the roads from damageSuch displays of military might remain rare in the United States.”We were founded by a group of merchants and farmers who were tired of a standing army invading their streets in the name of keeping them safe,” Peter Loge, director of George Washington University’s School of Media, told AFP.”We’ve always looked down on grand military parades in Russia across Red Square or in North Korea, because we’re not like that. We’re Americans, and we believe in democracy, not in military shows of force.”