Boeing admits “error” after Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 incident
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun acknowledged mistakes made by the U.S. aircraft manufacturer in the Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 incident, as more than 170 jets remained grounded for a fourth day, telling staff the company would ensure an accident like the mid-air Alaska Airlines panel blowout “can never happen again.”
The company’s top planemaking official, Stan Deal, also told a somber town hall meeting at its Renton, Washington 737 factory that Boeing acknowledges “the real seriousness of the accident” as it launches checks into its quality controls and processes.
Calhoun’s remarks were Boeing’s first public acknowledgment of errors since a so-called door plug snapped off the fuselage of a nearly full 737 MAX 9 on Friday, leaving a gaping hole next to a miraculously empty seat.
→ Akasa Air adds two new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft
Calhoun said he had been “shaken to the bone” by the accident, which rekindled pressure on Boeing over its troubled small plane family almost five years after a full-blown MAX safety crisis sparked by deadly crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.
“We’re going to approach this, number one, acknowledging our mistake,” Calhoun told employees, according to an excerpt released by Boeing. “We’re going to approach it with 100% and complete transparency every step of the way.”
Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, the two U.S. carriers that use the temporarily grounded planes, have found loose parts on similar aircraft, raising fears such an incident could have happened again.
‘QUALITY CONTROL ISSUE’
In a separate meeting on Tuesday, Boeing told staff the findings were being treated as a “quality control issue” and checks were under way at Boeing and fuselage supplier Spirit Aerosystems, sources familiar with the matter said.
Boeing has sent written orders to its own plants and those of its suppliers to ensure such problems are addressed and to carry out broader checks of systems and processes, they said.
Calhoun also told Boeing employees the company would “ensure every next airplane that moves into the sky is in fact safe.”
He praised the Alaska Airlines crew that swiftly landed the plane, with only minor injuries to the 171 passengers and six crew.
With information from Reuters
Related Topics
Avianca Launches New Direct Route Between Bogotá and Belém, Brazil
LATAM Airlines Launches Its Own eSIM
Delta Announces First Nonstop Route Between Salt Lake City and South America
Avianca Suspends Direct Flights Between Bogotá and Havana Starting in August
Plataforma Informativa de Aviación Comercial con 13 años de trayectoria.