US Senate committee holds hearing on Boeing safety culture report By Reuters
David Shepherdson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee said it will hold a hearing next week with members of an expert panel that issued a report in February criticizing Boeing (NYSE:)’s safety culture and calling for significant improvements.
Next Wednesday’s hearing comes as the U.S. plane maker grapples with a sweeping safety crisis that has damaged its reputation following the Jan. 5 rupture of an aerial panel on the new 737 MAX 9. Regulators have curbed production and March aircraft deliveries were cut in half.
The committee consists of three panel members: NASA safety culture expert Tracy Dillinger, MIT aeronautics expert Javier de Luis, and University of Southern California professor and aviation safety expert Najmedin Meshkati. We will listen to your remarks.
Committee Chairwoman Sen. Maria Cantwell said Wednesday she was impressed by the expert witness panel’s report and wanted to hear from members first before calling the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for a future hearing.
Boeing declined to comment on the hearing.
The panel’s report was mandated by Congress after fatal 737 MAX crashes in Indonesia in 2018 and Ethiopia in 2019 that killed 346 people, including panel member De Luiz’s sister.
The report criticized Boeing’s safety culture on several fronts and found “a lack of awareness of safety-related indicators at all levels of the organization.”
The panel also noted “inadequate and confusing implementation of positive safety culture components.”
The panel was appointed by the FAA in early 2023 and Boeing said it would have six months to review its recommendations and “develop an action plan.”
In February, the FAA ordered Boeing to address systemic quality control issues within 90 days after an audit found deficiencies in the company’s manufacturing processes.
The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will hear testimony from Boeing whistleblower and company engineer Sam Salehpour next Wednesday afternoon. He claims Boeing has dismissed safety and quality issues in the production of the 787 and 777 jets.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the panel’s chairman, said Salehpour would testify about what the senator called “Boeing’s broken safety culture.” Blumenthal also called on outgoing CEO Dave Calhoun to testify at a future hearing.
Boeing told Salehpour this week that the company has full confidence in the 787, adding that the claims are “inaccurate and do not represent the comprehensive work Boeing has undertaken to ensure the quality and long-term safety of the aircraft.”
