The $30 Billion 787 Bet That Nearly Broke Boeing

9 min 18 s · published November 3, 2026 · Watch on YouTube

Boeing planned to build the 787 for about $5 billion. By most estimates it cost more than $30 billion and very nearly broke the company. It is also the best-selling widebody of its generation, and there's a good chance you've flown on one. This is the full story, with the documentary at the top.

Written and maintained by Jacob McEwen, M.S. Electrical Engineering·Last updated

Chapters

  1. 0:00 Hundreds in the air right now
  2. 0:30 Boeing, losing
  3. 1:30 The real gamble
  4. 2:21 The unraveling
  5. 3:26 The batteries
  6. 4:38 The bill
  7. 5:23 Charleston
  8. 6:29 The airplane itself
  9. 7:18 Ahmedabad
  10. 8:25 The verdict

Read the full story

The written version, with photos and every source: The $30 billion bet that nearly broke Boeing: the story of the 787 Dreamliner

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