Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun leaves a meeting with Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, in the Hart Building, Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. Calhoun met with senators about recent safety issues, including grounding of the 737 MAX 9 airplanes. .
Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | fake images
boeing CEO Dave Calhoun will testify before a Senate panel Tuesday about the company's safety and manufacturing crises after a door panel on a nearly new 737 Max 9 plane exploded in January.
Calhoun, who has said he will resign before the end of the year, faces questions from the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations as the company works to improve employee training and aircraft quality and fix its tarnished safety reputation. The company has not yet named a replacement for Calhoun, who took over after his previous leader was ousted for her handling of two fatal Boeing crashes.
“Much has been said about Boeing's culture. We have heard those concerns loud and clear. Our culture is far from perfect, but we are taking action and making progress,” Calhoun plans to tell the committee, according to testimony written before the conference. audience.
The hearing comes as Boeing faces possible prosecution in the United States after the Justice Department said last month that the plane maker violated a 2021 settlement linked to the 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 that claimed 346 lives. . That agreement, which protected the company and its executives from facing criminal charges related to the accidents, reportedly expired a few days after the explosion. Alaska Airlines Door panel in January. The Justice Department has until July 7 to decide whether to prosecute.
Several relatives of the victims are expected to attend the hearing. Relatives of the Max crash victims met with Justice Department officials late last month to urge the United States to prosecute.
“Boeing made a promise to review its safety practices and culture. That promise turned out to be empty, and the American people deserve an explanation,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the subcommittee's chairman, in announcing the hearing earlier this year. month.
Calhoun will appear before the committee at 2 pm ET on Tuesday.
The Federal Aviation Administration has taken a hard line against Boeing, and FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said the regulator will keep inspectors on the ground at the company's facilities until the agency is satisfied with safety improvements.
The FAA had already halted Boeing's ability to increase production of the Max, its best-selling plane. Whitaker said last month that it would likely be several months before that restriction was lifted.
Boeing's aircraft production has been hit by the resulting crisis, forcing large customers tolike Southwest Airlines and united airlines to adjust your growth and hiring plans.
Boeing's lower production and deliveries have hurt its cash flow, and the company warned investors last month that it would burn rather than generate cash this year.
Boeing shares have fallen more than 30% so far this year as of Monday's close, compared with a nearly 15% gain in the S&P 500.
The company is trying to eradicate quality defects in aircraft and reduce so-called roving work in which production steps are completed out of order, something it has done to address the defects. Last month, Boeing signaled a series of other changes to encourage workers to speak out about problems at its factories after several whistleblowers raised concerns about quality problems and retaliation.
On the other hand, Boeing faces supply chain problems. AeroSystems Spirit, a major supplier to both Boeing and Airbus, said last week that titanium entered the supply chain with falsified documents. The supplier said that despite the falsified documentation, more than 1,000 tests confirmed the material to be “aircraft-grade titanium.”
Boeing has been trying to buy airframe supplier Spirit, a deal that Calhoun said is “more than likely” to close in the first half of the year.
