WASHINGTON: Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun publicly acknowledged the company had made mistakes following a panel explosion in mid-flight last week on a full Alaska Airlines flight, and said he would work with regulators to ensure it “never happens again.”
The statements are the first public acknowledgement of errors by the aircraft manufacturer several days after the incident.
“First, we are going to address this matter by acknowledging our mistake,” Calhoun told employees, according to an excerpt released by Boeing. “We are going to address it with complete transparency every step of the way.”
Calhoun also said the company will make sure “every next plane that takes to the skies is safe.” Calhoun praised the Alaska Airlines crew that quickly landed the 737 MAX 9 plane on Friday after a panel broke off while taking off from Portland, Oregon, with a full complement of passengers on board.
It has put the spotlight of investors and regulators back on Boeing’s troubled final years after a pair of crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed nearly 350 people.
The company has suffered numerous production issues since the broader 20-month grounding of the 737 MAX family in March 2019.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded a total of 171 aircraft on Saturday following the incident, prompting numerous flight cancellations. The panel that blew up Alaska Air Flight 1282 replaces an optional exit door used by airlines that have denser seating configurations.
Alaska Airlines and the other U.S. operator of the 737 MAX 9, United Airlines, said Monday they had found loose parts on several grounded planes during preliminary checks, raising fresh concerns among industry experts about how Boeing’s best-selling family of planes is built and its approval process.
A source told Reuters that United Airlines found “closer to 10 than five” planes had loose parts used to hold together a panel that exists in place of an exit door on certain 737 MAX models.
The planes have yet to begin official ground inspections of their aircraft. Boeing was still working on inspection guidelines to ensure safety flaws are fixed after airlines found several aircraft with loose parts.
The FAA said Tuesday afternoon that Boeing was reviewing its instructions for inspections and maintenance, which still must be approved by the FAA before inspections can begin on the 171 grounded planes. The FAA said it will “conduct a thorough review” and that public safety will “determine the timeline” for returning the MAX to service.
Boeing shares fell 1.4% on Tuesday. – Reuters
