Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun apologized to the families of crash victims at a Senate hearing Tuesday before lawmakers criticized the executive for his role in the airline’s turbulent decline.
“I am deeply sorry… my entire team at Boeing, everyone around the world, past and present,” Calhoun told the audience in the packed Senate chamber.
Spectators held portraits of victims who had died on Boeing planes, and there were too many faces to count.
Boeing has made headlines in recent years for broken landing gears, doors that pop off mid-flight and multiple sudden system failures that led to catastrophic crashes in Indonesia in 2018 and Ethiopia in 2019 that resulted in dozens of deaths.
The company’s repeated failure to fix numerous problems has generated skepticism on Capitol Hill, with lawmakers taking Calhoun to task for his role in the airline’s downfall on Tuesday.
With protesters in the audience, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun takes his seat to testify before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Investigations Subcommittee to brief lawmakers on problems at the plane maker since a panel exploded on a Boeing 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight. in January. Some protesters were relatives of those killed in Boeing accidents.
“It’s a moment of reckoning for Boeing,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the subcommittee’s chairman, told Boeing’s chief executive, warning him that he has a dozen whistleblowers ready to blow smoke at the American aeronautical giant.
On Monday, the subcommittee released a report with explosive allegations from a Boeing quality assurance inspector, Sam Mohawk, who said the company installed defective parts on planes and was later told by his managers to hide the evidence from regulators. governmental.
Mohawk’s allegations are just the latest in a flood of whistleblower complaints against Boeing this year.
But the whistleblower’s revelations appear to be an aside, as during the hearing, lawmakers took aim at Boeing’s CEO.
‘Mister. “Calhoun, let’s put it bluntly, 346 people died because of a faulty control system, the MCAS system, that Boeing knew was going to cause an accident at some point,” Blumenthal said.
“I wouldn’t say the last part of that sentence,” Calhoun replied. “We ourselves, our design engineers and the certification process, decided that could never happen, but it did.”
“Now you’re going to make me really angry,” Blumenthal responded, visibly upset by the CEO’s response.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun looks at protesters and victims’ families upon arrival.
Many of those carrying signs behind Calhoun had connections to those who died or were injured aboard Boeing planes.
In January, a Boeing plane operated by Alaska Airlines lost a door mid-flight. Several passengers aboard that flight are suing Boeing and the airline
A faulty plug in the door of the Boeing 737 Max 9 is believed to have caused the blowout.
Relatives of victims of the Boeing 737 MAX8 crash in Ethiopia hold photographs during a news conference at the Capitol on Tuesday.
“Boeing was accused of defrauding the United States of America and the process was postponed because Boeing paid a fine, but no individual was held responsible,” Blumenthal said.
“Senator, it’s wrong for you to re-investigate an investigation that was exhaustive, exhaustive, exhaustive,” Calhoun responded.
Shouldn’t the people still at Boeing be held accountable? Blumenthal asked.
“Senator Blumenthal, we are responsible,” Calhoun admitted after Blumenthal’s temper flared.
Later, Republican Josh Hawley, R-Mo., incredulously asked the CEO how much he gets paid to oversee such disasters at Boeing.
“What exactly are you paid for?” Hawley asked.
“I get paid to run the Boeing company,” Calhoun responded.
Hawley then asked if Calhoun’s job responsibilities and his nearly $33 million annual salary are based on transparency and security.
“You are under investigation for falsifying 787 inspection records, Boeing is under criminal investigation for the Alaska Airlines flight, you were investigated by the Department of Justice for criminal conspiracy to defraud the FAA,” Hawley said. “This is all under his command.”
“It doesn’t seem like a lot of transparency to me,” the Republican told Calhoun.
A poster with photographs of those killed on Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 is held up as Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun testifies before the Senate.
Boeing has been the subject of multiple investigations by federal authorities into the safety and quality of its planes in recent years.
The door exploded while the plane was cruising at 16,00 feet, forcing the pilots to react quickly to ground the craft to protect the passengers.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun testified that he is proud of the company’s safety record despite high-profile safety incidents.
Boeing and Alaska Airlines face separate criminal investigations after a plane door exploded in January. Both have denied any wrongdoing.
“I’m proud to have taken the job,” Calhoun told Hawley. “I’m proud of our safety record.”
“Behind you, people are showing people who the victims of their safety record are,” the Missouri Republican said.
“I think we can all see that, and I think the American public, when they’re afraid to get on their planes, understands their safety record.”
“And I think it’s a travesty that you’re still at your job,” the Republican concluded.
During the hearing Calhoun reiterated the actions taken by the company in recent months in response to the January Alaska Airlines flight.
The incident sparked a frantic meeting with senior management staff in the days after the door came off mid-flight.
Additionally, Boeing paid $61 million to Alaska Airlines in March to compensate it for the disaster.
“In our factories and in our supply chain, we took immediate steps to ensure that the specific circumstances that led to this accident would not occur again,” the CEO testified.
Boeing has said it has revised employee incentives, replaced senior staff at its commercial aircraft unit and is looking for new suppliers to address some of its problems.
Still, lawmakers didn’t seem to believe the CEO’s answers.
“Instead of asking what has caused Boeing’s safety culture to erode, you and your senior management colleagues have deflected blame, looked the other way, and instead served your shareholders,” Blumenthal said. .
“Boeing needs to stop thinking about the next earnings call and start thinking about the next generation.”