19-6-2024 (WASHINGTON) In a tense Senate hearing, Boeing’s CEO Dave Calhoun faced harsh questioning and criticism over the company’s troubled safety record, overshadowing his apology to the families who lost loved ones in the two 737 MAX crashes.
The hearing before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations marked the first time Calhoun had to answer lawmakers’ questions, putting a spotlight on Boeing’s deteriorating safety reputation and the CEO’s leadership.
Republican Senator Josh Hawley grilled Calhoun, asking “why haven’t you resigned?” and accusing him of “strip-mining” Boeing while earning a multi-million dollar pay package. Calhoun’s total compensation rose to $32.8 million in 2023, a 45% increase from the previous year.
Senator Richard Blumenthal, the subcommittee chair, called the proceedings a “moment of reckoning” for Boeing and said the evidence was “near-overwhelming” to justify criminal prosecution by the US Justice Department.
Calhoun took responsibility for a range of incidents that have plagued Boeing, including the Alaska Airlines door plug incident in January, which was found to be due to a manufacturing defect. He also acknowledged Boeing’s role in the development of the software system linked to the fatal 2018 and 2019 crashes that killed 346 people.
“I am here in the spirit of transparency and I am here to take responsibility,” Calhoun told reporters before the hearing, later apologising to the crash victims’ families for the “grief that we have caused.”
However, Calhoun’s attempts to take ownership were overshadowed by the senators’ scathing criticism of his leadership and Boeing’s safety culture. Blumenthal said the company needs to “stop thinking about the next earnings call and start thinking about the next generation.”
The hearing also heard from a new whistleblower, Boeing quality assurance investigator Sam Mohawk, who claimed to have witnessed a “systemic disregard” for potentially defective parts at the company’s 737 factory.
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