Boeing CEO apologizes to families for aircraft safety failures

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun returns to his seat after speaking directly to families of those killed in the crashes of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 and Lion Air Flight 610 during his opening statement before a Subcommittee on Investigative Affairs hearing. Senate Homeland Security and Government officials on Boeing’s broken safety culture on Capitol Hill on June 18, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Boeing CEO David Calhoun apologized Tuesday to the families of people who died in crashes on the manufacturer’s planes, while members of both parties on a U.S. Senate panel grilled the executive for failing on safety and transparency. .

Calhoun appeared before a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s Investigations Subcommittee to discuss the recent failures of Boeing jets and the company’s treatment of whistleblowers.

Democrats and Republicans on the panel said Calhoun was more concerned about the company’s profits than its safety record.

“Boeing needs to stop thinking about the next earnings call and start thinking about the next generation,” subcommittee chairman Ricardo Blumenthala Connecticut Democrat said in an opening statement.

Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley was one of Calhoun’s most insightful questioners, starting with a question about the CEO’s compensation, which is nearly $33 million a year.

“Mr. Calhoun, you’re not focused on safety,” Hawley said. “You’re not focused on quality. You’re not focused on transparency.

“I think you’re actually focused on exactly what you were hired to do, which is saving money,” Hawley continued. “You are eliminating safety procedures. You are attacking your employees. You are cutting jobs because you are trying to extract every possible profit from this company. You are exploring this. You are exploiting one of the greatest American companies of all time.”

Calhoun should resign, Hawley said.

Calhoun will leave the company at the end of the year.

Apologies to the families

Shortly after Blumenthal introduced him, Calhoun stood up and turned to the spectators in the hearing room. His audience included the families of passengers who died on Lion Air Flight 610 in Indonesia in October 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in March 2019.

Both crashes were caused by software problems in Boeing’s then-new 737 MAX aircraft.

“I would like to apologize on behalf of all our Boeing associates around the world, past and present, for their losses,” Calhoun told the families.

“They are distressing. And I apologize for the pain we caused. And I want you to know that we are fully committed, in your memory, to working and focusing on safety while we are employed by Boeing.”

Calhoun, who took over as Boeing’s chief executive in January 2020 after former CEO Dennis Muilenburg was fired following the two MAX crashes, has largely accepted responsibility on the company’s behalf for those crashes and a January episode from 2024 that saw a door come off a plane. during an Alaska Airlines flight taking off from Portland, Oregon.

Calhoun said the aviation industry depends on accountability, transparency and continuous learning. The company must have a perfect track record and cannot allow a single defective plane to leave its factory, he said.

“Perfection is our job,” he said. “And it has to be absolute.”

Boeing is headquartered in Virginia but has factories across the country, including in Washington state, where it was founded, Missouri and South Carolina.

Culture is still a problem

Calhoun was respectful throughout the hearing, largely accepting of lawmakers’ criticism of his administration, and promised improvements.

But several panel members said their words were not enough.

Four years after taking office, Calhoun has failed to fix a poor safety culture, said New Hampshire Democrat Maggie Hassan.

“You talk about security and culture, but you’re not answering the question of what the root causes are here,” Hassan said. “How do you ensure that safety and quality are your product, not your words?”

In accepting responsibility for the Alaska Airlines incident, Calhoun responded that the safety record has generally been positive, with 2023 being the safest year on record for air travel.

Whistleblower retaliation

Also in the audience Tuesday were the mother and brother of John Barnett, a former Boeing engineer who exposed safety issues at the company and died by suicide earlier this year.

Blumenthal described the “immense pressure” Barnett was under because he was helping investigate Boeing. Barnett received 19 calls from his manager one day and 21 the next, including a threat to “break him,” according to Blumenthal.

The committee heard from “more than a dozen” whistleblowers from Boeing’s workforce, Blumenthal said. They routinely reported that raising concerns internally could result in intimidation, Blumenthal said.

The company also did not cooperate with the subcommittee, Blumenthal said.

In response to requests for information, Boeing responded with pages of “complete gobbledygook” that were impossible to read, Blumenthal said.

“I would describe it exactly how you did it and I can’t justify it,” Calhoun said. “And I will definitely follow along.”

Republican Ron Johnson asked Calhoun if he had investigated the company’s incentive structure in response to whistleblower reports.

“It’s actually quite shocking to have a supervisor call someone 19 times in one day, saying, ‘I’m going to break you,’” the Wisconsin Republican said. “My guess is you don’t tolerate this type of behavior. Have you looked at your incentive system?

Calhoun responded that the company has made “significant changes to our incentive structure that really emphasize all the safety issues.”

Johnson then asked whether the company’s focus on diversity, equity and inclusion programs meant compensation for quality performance.

“I’ve never seen those two things come into conflict,” Calhoun said.

Possible DOJ action

The U.S. Department of Justice is conducting its own investigation and may initiate criminal proceedings, Blumenthal said.

Blumenthal, a former federal prosecutor, said he believed there was enough evidence of wrongdoing to pursue prosecution.

Blumenthal, Johnson and other panel members said lawmakers and the traveling public wanted to see the aerospace manufacturing giant succeed. Boeing manufactures the majority of airlines in commercial service in the US and also has significant military contracts.

But the company’s success would “require a course correction,” Blumenthal said.

A federal lawsuit against those responsible for security failures would be a good start, he added.

“I’m telling you and the Department of Justice that individuals must be held accountable because that’s the only way deterrence works,” Blumenthal said. “Do not you agree?”

“Yes, sir,” Calhoun replied. “I strongly believe in accountability.”

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