U.S. lawmakers prepared Tuesday to press Boeing’s chairman and CEO over the company’s latest plan to resolve its manufacturing woes. Relatives of those who lost their lives in two Boeing 737 Max airliner accidents were present in the room to remind him of the issues.
CEO David Calhoun appeared before the Senate investigative subcommittee, chaired by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, and Boeing critic. Mr. Blumenthal opened the hearing by greeting the relatives of the crash victims and the family of a whistleblower who committed suicide earlier this year.
“This hearing is a moment of reckoning,” the senator said. This is a once iconic company that has lost its way in one way or another. »
Mr. Calhoun’s appearance before the subcommittee was the first by a senior Boeing official since a panel on a 737 Max model exploded on an Alaska Airlines flight in January. No one was seriously injured, but the incident raised new concerns about the company’s best-selling commercial plane.
David Calhoun sat at the witness table and played with his glasses while Mr. Blumenthal spoke. Sen. Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, thanked the leader for confronting “tough questions.”
Hours before his appearance, the Senate committee released a 204-page report containing new allegations from a whistleblower who fears that “non-compliant” parts – those that may be defective or not properly documented – are being used in 737 Max aircraft.
Sam Mohawk, a quality assurance inspector at the 737 assembly plant near Seattle, says Boeing hid evidence of the situation after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) informed the company a year ago that it would inspect the factory.
“Once Boeing received such notice, it ordered that the majority of the [non-compliant] parts that were stored outside be moved to another location,” Mr. Mohawk said, according to the report. “About 80 percent of the parts were moved to escape the watchful eyes of FAA inspectors. »
The pieces were then replaced or lost, Mohawk said. They included control surfaces, flaps and tail fins, all crucial to controlling an aircraft.
A Boeing spokesperson said the company received the subcommittee’s report Monday evening and was looking into the allegations. “We continually encourage our employees to report any concerns as our priority is to ensure the safety of our aircraft and the public,” the spokesperson said.
The FAA said it would “thoroughly investigate” the allegations raised in the Senate report.
The Senate subcommittee said the newly discovered documents and whistleblower testimony “paint a troubling picture of a company that prioritizes manufacturing speed and cost reduction over ensuring quality and safety of aircraft.
The 737 MAX has a checkered past. The Justice Department plans to sue Boeing for violating the terms of an agreement with the company following allegations that the company misled regulators who approved the plane.
MAX planes crashed in 2018 in Indonesia and 2019 in Ethiopia, killing 346 people. The FAA then grounded the plane for more than a year and a half.
Sam Mohawk told the Senate subcommittee that the number of non-compliant parts had exploded since production of the 737 Max resumed after the accidents. He said the increase led his supervisors to tell him and other workers to “cancel” records indicating the parts were not suitable to be installed in planes.
The FAA briefly grounded some MAX planes again after a cap covering an emergency exit on the Alaska Airlines plane exploded in mid-flight in January. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have opened and ongoing separate investigations into Boeing.
The company says it has gotten the message. Boeing says it slowed production, encouraged employees to report safety concerns, shut down assembly lines for a day to allow workers to talk about safety and appointed a retired Navy admiral to lead a quality assessment. . Late last month, it delivered an improvement plan ordered by the FAA.
“From the beginning, we have assumed our responsibilities and cooperated transparently with the NTSB and the FAA,” Mr. Calhoun said in remarks prepared for the hearing. He defended the company’s safety culture.
“Our culture is far from perfect, but we are taking action and making progress,” he continued. Today we are taking comprehensive measures to strengthen safety and quality. »
