Boeing CEO faces safety grilling as crash victims’ families look on

The chief executive of Boeing was grilled by U.S. senators on Tuesday about the company’s mounting safety and manufacturing shortfalls while relatives of people who died in two crashes of Boeing 737 Max jetliners looked on.

David Calhoun turned and apologized directly to the families holding pictures of their loved ones before facing tough questions about Boeing’s stated commitment to safety — despite whistleblower complaints and mid-flight emergencies in the years since those 2018 and 2019 crashes, which killed 346 people, that have raised intense questions suggesting otherwise.

“I apologize for the grief that we have caused,” he told the families.

He told the committee in prepared remarks that Boeing’s safety culture “is far from perfect, but we are taking action and making progress.” He reiterated that promise and positive outlook multiple times under questioning.

Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the chair of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations that held Tuesday’s hearing, called Calhoun’s appearance “a reckoning.”

He also pointed to similar promises the company made in the immediate aftermath of the 737 Max 8 crashes, which he said evidence has shown were not kept.

“In fact, there is near overwhelming evidence, in my view as a former prosecutor, that prosecution should be pursued,” he said during his opening remarks.

Calhoun’s appearance before Congress was the first by a high-ranking Boeing official since a panel blew out of a 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. No one was seriously injured in the incident, but it raised fresh concerns about the company’s best-selling commercial aircraft. The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA are conducting separate investigations.

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