Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are seeking answers from Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun. The executive is facing questions about passenger safety following recent mechanical issues on Boeing planes.
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“We fly safe planes,” Calhoun said to reporters. “We don’t put airplanes in the air we don’t have 100% confidence in. I’m here today in the spirit of transparency to one, recognize the seriousness of what you just asked. Number two, to share everything I can with our Capitol Hill interests and answer all their questions, because they have a lot of them.”
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded Boeing’s 737 Max 9 jets after a fuselage panel broke off of an Alaska Airlines plane just six minutes into a Jan. 5 flight.
Sparks and flames were spotted shooting from a Boeing 747 Atlas Air cargo plane that took off from Miami International Airport on Friday, Jan. 19. The pilot was forced to make an emergency landing.
Delta Airlines flight 982 was about to take off from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport when a nose wheel came off the Boeing 757 and rolled down a hill on Saturday, Jan. 20.
“Delta 982, this is the aircraft looking at you. One of your nose tires just came off, it just rolled off the runway behind you,” a pilot on another Delta flight warned.
All these incidents involved different models of Boeing airplanes. Fortunately, no injuries were reported in any of these events.
Considering the panel incident on the Alaska Airlines flight, investigators believe the panel was not secured with bolts and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating to figure out if Boeing is at fault.
The FAA grounded all 171 Boeing 737 Max 9s and said the planes will be eligible to return to service after thorough inspections.
Alaska Airlines released a statement saying some of its Max 9s would be put back into service starting Friday, Jan. 26, but only after “rigorous inspections are completed, and each aircraft is deemed airworthy according to the FAA requirements.”
United Airlines’ CEO said its Max 9s are slated to be put back into rotation Sunday, Jan. 28.
Hundreds of flights have been canceled, leaving passengers scrambling to find alternate routes to their destinations, and leaders of the airlines are not holding back their frustration and anger.
“It makes you mad. It makes you mad that we’re finding issues like that on brand new airplanes,” Alaska Airlines’ CEO Ben Minicucci said.
The FAA also announced Wednesday, Jan. 24, that it has decided not to allow production expansion of Boeing’s Max aircraft until quality control issues are “resolved.”
Calhoun said he supports the FAA’s decision.
