In the past three months, there has been a noticeable increase in flight problems, raising concerns about air safety, especially with Boeing planes. Despite the lack of fatal crashes in the last 15 years, recent incidents and close calls have caught the attention of regulators and travelers.

One incident that garnered significant media coverage occurred in January when a panel plugging the space reserved for an unused emergency door blew off an Alaska Airlines jetliner above Oregon. While the pilots managed to land the Boeing 737 Max safely, the incident sparked widespread concern about air safety, overshadowing a deadly runway crash in Tokyo just three days earlier.

FlightRadar24, a popular tracking site, recently compiled data on the number of emergency calls made by pilots to air traffic controllers. The numbers show a rise in such calls since mid-January, although they remain below levels seen during much of 2023. However, emergency calls are an imperfect gauge as they may not always indicate immediate danger, and not all planes in trouble alert controllers.

The National Safety Council estimates that the chances of an American dying in a motor-vehicle crash are about 1 in 93, while deaths on airplanes are too rare to calculate odds. Data from the U.S. Department of Transportation further support the claim that air travel is the safest form of transportation.

Nevertheless, a panel of experts reported in November that a shortage of air traffic controllers, outdated plane-tracking technology, and other issues pose a growing threat to safety in the sky. According to the panel, the current level of safety in the national airspace system is becoming unsustainable due to these challenges.

Boeing, a leading U.S. exporter and a century-old name in aircraft manufacturing, has faced significant challenges in recent years. The crashes of two 737 Max jets, one in Indonesia in 2018 and the other in Ethiopia in 2019, resulted in the loss of 346 lives, severely damaging Boeing's reputation. The company has also struggled with manufacturing flaws that led to delays in deliveries of 737s and 787 Dreamliners. Over the past five years, Boeing has incurred losses nearing $24 billion.

The recent blowout of an Alaska Airlines Max has further added to Boeing's woes. Investigations into the incident have focused on missing bolts that were supposed to secure the door-plug panel, but which were absent after a repair job at the Boeing factory. The FBI has initiated a criminal investigation, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is intensifying its oversight of the company.

Boeing CEO David Calhoun acknowledged the company's accountability for the problem on the Alaska plane, regardless of the investigators' findings. Calhoun emphasized that Boeing understands the gravity of the situation and is committed to addressing the issues raised.

As questions about production and safety persist at Boeing, the industry awaits further updates and solutions to ensure the continued safety of air travel.