NEW YORK, Jan 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Boeing CEO David Calhoun acknowledged the company’s “mistake” in the wake of the Alaska Airlines incident at a staff-wide “safety meeting” Tuesday.
“We’re going to approach this number one acknowledging our mistake,” Calhoun told staff, according to avideo of the meeting provided by Boeing. “We’re going to approach it with 100% and complete transparency every step of the way. We are going to work with the NTSB who is investigating the accident itself to find out what the cause is.”
A company source told CNN that Boeing believes “the mistake in question” was introduced in the aircraft’s manufacturing supply chain, however it is not immediately clear if Calhoun identified any specific error during the presentation.
On Friday, an Alaska Airlines flight carrying 177 people made an emergency landing shortly following takeofffrom Portland, Oregon, after part of the wall of a weeks-old 737 Max 9 aircraft detached and left a gaping hole inthe side of the plane. On Saturday, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered most Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft to be temporarily grounded as regulators and Boeing investigate the cause of the incident. The order applies to some 171 planes around the world.
Remarkably, no one was killed or seriously injured in Friday’s midflight accident, which was partially caught on horrifying video clips by fellow passengers.
Calhoun in the meeting praised the crew of the Alaska Airlines flight for their handling of the situation, the meetingvideo showed.
“They train their lives to do that. But you don’t know until you know – I hope most never know,” he said. “But this crew, they stood the test and they delivered the airplane back home to us.”
The meeting also included a reminder of the seriousness of the situation. Employees were told that the company’s Chief Safety Officer is now in charge of the 737 Max fleet. Mike Delaney is Boeing’s Chief Aerospace Safety Officer.
The meeting, which took place at noon Pacific from the 737 Max factory in Renton, Washington, also included an expression of confidence in “Boeing, the airplane, and (Boeing’s) employees,” the source said.
The company pledged to work with the FAA to ensure there are proper inspections. On Tuesday, the FAA said that Boeing’s plan for the inspection of door plugs on 737 Max 9 aircraft required revisions, and the aircraft will remain grounded in the meantime.
“Boeing offered an initial version of instructions yesterday which they are now revising because of feedback received in response,” the FAA said in a statement. “Upon receiving the revised version of instructions from Boeing the FAA will conduct a thorough review.”
The White House is “relieved” that all passengers and crew of Alaska Airlines flight 1282 are safe, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, noting that the aircraft will remain grounded until FAA operators “complete enhanced inspections.” — NNN-AGENCIES
