Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun will face tough questions from U.S. senators on Tuesday over the planemaker's safety culture as new whistleblower claims emerge. Calhoun's appearance at 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT) before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations marks the first time he will face lawmakers' questions following a January mid-air emergency involving an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9, which raised widespread alarm.
Key Takeaways
Whistleblower Revelations: New whistleblower Sam Mohawk has exposed serious quality control issues at Boeing, including a dramatic increase in nonconformance reports and intentional hiding of parts from the FAA.
Senate Scrutiny: Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun will address the Senate, acknowledging the company's cultural issues while emphasizing efforts to improve safety and accountability.
Regulatory Actions: The FAA and Justice Department are intensifying scrutiny of Boeing, with the FAA halting production expansion and requiring a comprehensive quality improvement plan.
Boeing Whistleblower Claims Emerge
Senator Richard Blumenthal, chair of the panel, has highlighted a culture at Boeing that prioritizes profits, pushes limits, and disregards its workers. He emphasizes the need to repair this culture, which he claims enables retaliation against those who do not submit to the bottom line.
Blumenthal announced that a new whistleblower, Sam Mohawk, a current Boeing quality assurance investigator at its 737 factory in Renton, Washington, has come forward. Mohawk has reported systemic disregard for documentation and accountability of nonconforming parts. His claims include witnessing an increase in nonconformance reports by 300% following the resumption of MAX production in 2020, and incidents where parts were intentionally hidden from the FAA during inspections. Mohawk has filed a related claim with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Boeing stated that it is reviewing these claims, which it learned about on Monday. "We continuously encourage employees to report all concerns as our priority is to ensure the safety of our airplanes and the flying public," Boeing said. The company also mentioned that it has increased the size of its quality team and the number of inspections per airplane significantly since 2019.
Boeing CEO Faces Senate Scrutiny
Calhoun plans to acknowledge the company's shortcomings but will emphasize Boeing's efforts to improve. "Much has been said about Boeing’s culture. We’ve heard those concerns loud and clear. Our culture is far from perfect, but we are taking action and making progress," Calhoun will say in his written statement.
Blumenthal describes the hearing as a "moment of reckoning" for Boeing, urging the company to focus on the long-term rather than short-term profits. "Boeing needs to stop thinking about the next earnings call and start thinking about the next generation," Blumenthal will say.
Regulatory and Legal Scrutiny Intensifies
The scrutiny of Boeing by regulators and airlines has intensified since the January 5th incident involving an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 jet, which experienced a mid-air blowout of a door plug. This incident has prompted the National Transportation Safety Board to investigate, revealing that four key bolts were missing from the plane. The Justice Department has also opened a criminal investigation into the matter.
In response, Boeing has shaken up its management, and Calhoun announced in March that he will step down by year-end. Last week, Michael Whitaker, head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), stated that the agency had been "too hands off" in its oversight of Boeing before the January incident. The FAA has since barred Boeing from expanding production of the MAX until a comprehensive quality improvement plan is implemented.
Boeing recently delivered this quality improvement plan to the FAA, aiming to address systemic quality-control issues. However, the company continues to face significant challenges, as it must regain trust and ensure the safety of its airplanes and the flying public.
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