In brutal Senate hearing, Boeing admits its safety assessments of 737 Max fell short

WASHINGTON - Boeing executives admitted to lawmakers in a tense hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday that the company made mistakes in developing its troubled 737 Max plane, grounded worldwide after two crashes killed 346 people. It was Boeing’s most public admission that it botched the design of its highest-selling plane, reports Leslie Josephs for CNBC. Continue reading original article

The Intelligent Aerospace take:

October 30, 2019- Boeing president and CEO Dennis Muilenburg testified on Tuesday before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation regarding aviation safety and the 737 MAX airplane after a pair of deadly crashes were tied to the company's MCAS system.

“On behalf of myself and the Boeing company, we are sorry, we are deeply and truly sorry,” Muilenburg said, “We’ve made mistakes and we got some things wrong.”

Muilenburg and Boeing are going before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure today. Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon, who chairs that committee said ahead of the hearing, “Our investigation and this hearing are not just about getting answers to our questions, but about making the aviation system safer, for all who travel, and ensuring tragedies like those in Indonesia and Ethiopia never happen again."

Related: Damning report faults Boeing and F.A.A. on 737 Max certification

Related: U.S. might approve the 737 MAX to fly — but will the world follow?

Related: A former Boeing official is pleading the Fifth Amendment after being subpoenaed for documents in the US Justice Department's probe of the 737 Max

Jamie Whitney, Associate Editor
Intelligent Aerospace