Boeing CEO to testify before Senate in safety investigation

The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into the door panel breach. Meanwhile, the company is also awaiting a decision on whether to prosecute it for fraud. The case stems from a 2021 deal that would have allowed the company to avoid criminal prosecution related to the 737 Max crashes. Last month, the Justice Department announced that Boeing had failed to meet the terms of the agreement, which Boeing claims it has complied with. A decision on whether to pursue criminal proceedings is expected in early July.

In prepared testimony for the hearing before the Senate Permanent Select Committee on Investigations, chaired by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Calhoun apologized to the families who lost loved ones in the 737 Max crashes and outlined the steps the company has taken to prevent a repeat of the Alaska Airlines incident and to restore confidence in the Boeing brand.

“Our culture is far from perfect, but we are taking action and making progress,” Calhoun said in his prepared remarks. “We recognize the severity of the situation and are committed to moving forward with transparency and accountability while increasing employee engagement.”

In April The panel heard testimony from whistleblowers who testified about alleged quality deficiencies at the company and said they had been retaliated against for their comments.

“I look forward to Mr. Calhoun’s testimony, which is a necessary step to seriously address Boeing’s failures, regain public trust, and restore the company’s central role in the American economy and national defense,” Blumenthal said in a statement announcing Calhoun’s appearance..

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) announced a new investigation last week to obtain information on the faults that led to the door panel bursting on January 5th.

“While the worst was prevented, this is yet another example of a safety failure at Boeing,” Grassley wrote in a 12-page letter sent to Boeing on Wednesday. “Boeing must explain how this happened and what is being done to ensure American lives are not put at risk again.”

Calhoun took over as CEO in January 2020 and promised more transparency at the company. But critics say little has changed. A report released in February by an independent panel of experts convened by the Federal Aviation Administration found gaps in the company’s safety culture. It said employees still feared retaliation and that even when they raised concerns, they were not sure where to go with these concerns.

A whistleblower who testified before the Senate committee in April described alleged retaliation he faced after raising doubts about whether parts of the 787 Dreamliner fuselage were properly assembled and connected. Boeing denied the allegations.

Last month, Boeing presented its plan to correct quality defects identified during a six-week FAA audit.

In his written testimony, Calhoun said he was aware of the responsibility that comes with his company’s outsized role in the global aviation industry.

“Our aircraft have transported more than twice the world’s population,” he said. “Getting this right is critical for our company, for the customers who fly on our aircraft every day and for our country.”

Calhoun is likely to play only a temporary role in implementing the plan as his tenure at Boeing is coming to an end. In March, he announced he would step down at the end of the year, part of a senior leadership shakeup that also saw the departure of Stan Deal, the head of Boeing’s commercial aircraft division, who had worked for the company for nearly four decades.

Richard Aboulafia, chief executive of aviation consulting firm AeroDynamics, said it could take years to change Boeing’s corporate culture. The board’s choice of the new chief executive will speak volumes about the company’s future, he said.

Even as regulators, lawmakers and industry continue to assure the American public that commercial air travel is the safest form of transportation, Details of manufacturing problems continue to emerge. Compounding the industry’s woes, the FAA and its EU counterpart announced last week that they were investigating how titanium was used with falsified documentation to build parts of some Boeing and Airbus passenger planes.

Boeing also announced last week that it would conduct additional inspections on 787 aircraft after discovering that some of the fasteners used to connect parts of the fuselage may have been installed incorrectly. The problem only affects jets that have not yet been delivered, the company said.

Lawmakers are looking to the FAA to keep Boeing on track. Many are concerned that the FAA’s increased oversight of Boeing and other manufacturers after the 737 crashes was not enough to prevent the Alaska Airlines disaster.

In testimony before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee last week, FAA chief Michael Whitaker acknowledged that the agency’s oversight had been “too hands-off” and relied too heavily on audits. Whitaker said the agency had increased the number of inspectors at Boeing factories and key suppliers, including Spirit AeroSystems, which builds the fuselages for Boeing jets, as part of a new approach.