Boeing’s highly anticipated time to regain credibility at the Paris Air Show is now affected by an unexpected and horrific interruption. Only days ahead of the aerospace sector’s premier event, an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane crashed just after takeoff from Ahmedabad, India, and had nearly killed almost all 242 on board. It is the deadliest aviation disaster in the world in more than a decade, and casts a dark, contentious shadow over what was to have been a celebratory day out for the U.S aircraft maker.

The crash, while not yet officially associated with any mechanical issue, comes as incredibly pressure-filled times for new Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, who is navigating the company through a bumpy process of rebuilding public confidence and operational integrity. The timing could hardly have been worse, as Boeing had just booked more than 300 new orders for its aircraft and was climbing steadily higher in production of its 737 models. The momentum is now at risk of reviving public doubts and regulatory scrutiny.

The Paris Air Show

Traditionally, the Paris Air Show, which is set to run from June 16–22, is a celebratory showcase of aviation innovation and big commercial deals. For Boeing, this year was supposed to be about getting back to confidence after years of hurtful setbacks, which include two 737 MAX crashes, widespread production delays, and a publicly embarrassing door plug failure earlier this year that resulted in a far-reaching executive tremble.

Instead, Ortberg and his crew now come to Paris with a bigger burden, which is guaranteeing regulators, investors, and the flying public that Boeing’s new aircraft models are still safe and that the Dreamliner that crashed at Air India is not some signal of repeated systemic failure.

Air safety specialists such as John Nance, a retired commercial pilot, have emphasized that there is no immediate evidence connecting Boeing’s design or production to the accident. However, perception, and not reality, tends to guide public response. Paul Charles, CEO of the PC Agency, a London-based luxury travel consultancy, said,

“Previous production issues at Boeing will be very much on people’s minds at the moment and the relatively new leadership at Boeing needs to be visible in the days to come”.

A Complicated Story for Investors and the Public

Boeing shares reflected the immediate market discomfort, falling 4.2% on Thursday. Suppliers and associates, such as Spirit AeroSystems and GE Aerospace, also fell about 2% around the same time. Boeing’s outstanding debt also saw modest sell-offs, reflecting investor concern over possible long-term reputational loss and trial risk.

The aircraft from Air India was more than 10 years old, it was introduced early in 2014, and flight operations grossed more than 41,000 flight hours. Crucially, this kind of modern aircraft, the 787 Dreamliner, thus far in commercial use, had exhibited zero fatal accidents, despite an earlier grounding in 2013 over battery-related issues. Up to this day, the airplane is widely regarded as one of the safest and efficient flying aircraft.

On the other hand, public perceptions, which have been slow to rebound from the previous Boeing disasters, are still present. According to a recent Axios Harris poll, Boeing ranks 88th out of the top 100 corporate brands; a troublesome sign for a corporation that globally encompasses billions of public and private sector contracts.

Boeing’s Leadership in Question

For Ortberg, the coming weeks will be about more than technical revelations and PR releases. They’ll be a leadership test in crisis, one to which this company is accustomed but no less intimidating given what’s on the line. Boeing simply cannot risk another credibility crisis. Transparency, humility, and a positive engagement in the crash investigation will be required if the company is to divert the conversation again to innovation and expansion.

Edward Jones analyst Jeff Windau said,

“Due to the crash, there could be enhanced scrutiny on manufacturing and quality procedures. However, at this time, we do not feel there will be a long-term impact to production”.

With regulators starting their investigation and no definitive proof of wrongdoing yet on the table, Boeing’s best course of action is not only damage control, it’s presenting quantifiable evidence that the culture of denial and delay that had characterized earlier crises has been replaced with accountability and change.

The time has come to completely remake the prevailing culture, one that puts engineering integrity rather than shareholder timelines on the balance, with accountability instead of ambiguity, and transparency in opposition to darkly scripted narratives. The Air India tragedy should not be yet another point on an ever-growing continuum of lessons Boeing has failed to learn. As the aviation community converges in Paris, everyone will be looking at Boeing, not only to admire its new planes, but to judge whether or not this is finally a company that’s learning from the past rather than being defined by it.