Fighting back tears, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun “admitted our mistake” in causing a horrific mid-air door plug explosion during an Alaska Airlines flight.
“We're going to approach this with 100% and complete transparency every step of the way,” Calhoun told employees Tuesday during a meeting at a Boeing 737 factory near Seattle. He said he plans to work on it. bloomberg.
An emotional Calhoun called for enhanced safety after an explosion on the fuselage panel of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 that forced the airline's Flight 1282 to make an emergency landing at Portland International Airport on Friday night. This statement was made during an all-hands meeting.
But the 66-year-old, who worked at General Electric Co. for nearly 30 years before taking over as Boeing's chief executive in 2020, can't say what “mistakes” led to the near-disastrous blunder. Didn't make it clear.
The National Transportation Safety Board later announced that the culprit may have been hardware meant to secure fuselage panels that weren't actually installed.
The NTSB's revelations came just hours after United Airlines reported finding loose bolts and “installation issues” on some of its Boeing 737 MAX 9 jetliners.
“we, [NTSB] “We are investigating the accident itself to determine the cause,” Calhoun said Tuesday.
“I have children, I have grandchildren, and so do you,” he said, viewing photos of the plane's damaged fuselage during a meeting webcast to workers based around the country. I added, remembering that.
“This is important. Every detail matters,” Calhoun said after hearing a harrowing first-hand account of the flight, in which a passenger sent what was thought to be his last text message to his parents.
Emma Vu said she was one of 171 passengers on board when the plane suddenly fell mid-flight after a chunk of its fuselage was blown off at an altitude of about 16,000 feet, leaving a gaping hole in the plane. I remembered.
“The mask is down. I'm so scared right now,” Vu posted a message to her parents. TikTok videoswhere she was seen wearing an oxygen mask during the ordeal on a flight from Portland, Oregon to Ontario, California.
“Please pray for me. Please, I don't want to die,” she wrote.
Boeing's chief safety officer, Mike Delaney, also addressed employees at the conference.
“Mike and his team are the only people in the company who can give the go-ahead to get planes back in the air,” Calhoun said, according to Bloomberg. “Just be clear with everyone about that. That's how we organize.”
Delaney's senior management position was created in 2021 following two 737 Max 9 crashes in Indonesia in 2018 and March 2019. The crash killed a total of 346 people, grounded the plane worldwide and sparked questions about Boeing's safety procedures. .
In his speech, Calhoun also told employees to communicate with customers and added that “moments like this shake you to the bone” in connection with the Alaska Airlines crash, according to Bloomberg. .
Boeing shares fell 1.4% on Tuesday as United Airlines canceled 225 daily flights (8% of the total) and Alaska Airlines canceled 109 flights (18%).
Similar cancellations are expected on Wednesday.
Representatives for Boeing did not immediately respond to The Post's request for comment.
