the boss of the American aircraft manufacturer admits the “seriousness” of the situation before a Senate committee

This is the first time that Dave Calhoun has been questioned publicly since the January 5 incident, when a 737 MAX 9 plane lost a door stopper in flight.

Boeing 737 MAX, 787 Dreamliner, 777… In recent years, the American aircraft manufacturer has suffered numerous production and quality problems with its commercial aircraft. Before a Senate commission of inquiry, the boss of the aircraft manufacturer, Dave Calhoun, was questioned on Tuesday June 18, in order to respond to these safety problems. “We understand the gravity, and we are committed to moving forward with transparency and accountability, while increasing employee investment,” did he declare.

He spoke for the first time publicly since the incident on January 5, when an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 plane lost a stopper door (a cover blocking a redundant emergency exit) in flight.

Appointed in early 2020 as CEO of Boeing, of which he had been a director since 2009, Dave Calhoun’s mission was to turn around the situation after two crashes which left 346 dead, in 2018 and 2019.

But Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, chairman of the commission of inquiry, denounced at the opening of the session “a culture [d’entreprise] who continues to put profits first, push the envelope and ignore their employees.”

This commission of inquiry has already heard, in mid-April, four whistleblowers and published on Tuesday morning new elements reported by other whistleblowers. While several audits and investigations have identified numerous problems of “noncompliance” and shortcomings, particularly in quality control, the senator criticized him “the erosion of safety culture” For “to take care [des] shareholders”.

Former prosecutor, Richard Blumenthal estimated Tuesday that there were “overwhelming elements” to launch proceedings against Boeing, which had concluded a so-called deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) in 2021 concerning the two deadly crashes. According to the US Department of Justice, Boeing has not “failed to fulfill its obligations” under this agreement. Accused of fraud in the 737 MAX certification process, Boeing agreed to pay $2.5 billion and committed, among other things, to strengthening its compliance program.

Threatened with criminal charges in a Texas federal court, the group formally challenged the department’s findings last week. The latter must decide whether or not to continue before July 7.