When Calhoun walked into the subcommittee room on June 18, 2024, relatives of some of the passengers that died in two Boeing 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019, were sat holding photos of their deceased loved ones.听聽

Opening proceedings Senator Richard Blumenthal launched into a blistering attack against Calhoun during his opening statement, telling the Boeing boss that the hearing is a 鈥渕oment of reckoning鈥�.  

鈥淲hen you were named as Boeing精东影业 Chief Executive, Mr. Calhoun, we were told that you were the right person to correct course, and you committed to, 鈥榮trengthen Boeing精东影业 safety culture and rebuild trust with our customers, regulators, suppliers, and the flying public,鈥欌�� Blumenthal said.听

He continued: 鈥淎nd for a while, some started to believe that Boeing might have changed. But then this past January, the fa莽ade literally blew off the hollow shell that had been Boeing精东影业 promises to the world. Once that chasm was exposed, we learned that there was virtually no bottom to the void that lay below.鈥� 

The Senate hearing was called to gather evidence about 鈥淏oeing精东影业 broken safety culture鈥� which had been brought under the microscope after a door plug separated from an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 8 jet shortly after takeoff.  

Subsequent preliminary investigations by the National Transportation Safety Bureau (NTSB) found that there may have been production failures that led to the door plug not being installed properly after it was removed so repair work could be carried out inside the accident plane.听聽

In the following weeks and months, it became apparent that safety and quality were no longer what it once was at Boeing and the company was put into special measures by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that limited aircraft production and increased scrutiny at the production facilities.  

During Calhoun精东影业 testimony in front of the subcommittee he was told that Boeing was 鈥渃utting corners鈥�, 鈥渆liminating safety procedures鈥� and 鈥渢rying to squeeze every piece of profit you can鈥�.听聽

‘You are strip-mining Boeing’

鈥淵ou are strip-mining Boeing,鈥� Senator Josh Hawley said.  

Calhoun was challenged on why he hadn鈥檛 resigned, to which he replied, 鈥淪enator, I am sticking this through鈥�.  

Boeing confirmed on March 25, 2024, that Calhoun would retire at the end of the year and that he was remaining in his role to 鈥渟tabilize and position the company for the future鈥�. 

During his testimony Calhoun said that Boeing had taken 鈥渋mmediate action to ensure the specific circumstances that led to this accident would not happen again”.  

He told senators that following the door plug blowout Boeing had slowed production, encouraged employees to come forward with any issues and submitted a roadmap to the FAA on how it would fix its safety and quality-control issues.听

鈥淥ur culture is far from perfect, but we are taking action, and we are making progress,鈥� Calhoun told senators.  

According to , while giving evidence Calhoun also acknowledged during the hearing that some Boeing employees who raised concerns had faced retaliation.听聽

Whistleblowers have been central to the subcommittee精东影业 evidence with Senator Blumenthal confirming 鈥渕ore than a dozen鈥� have now come forward.  

Sam Mohawk, a Quality Assurance Inspector for Boeing in Renton, claimed in evidence presented by Senator Blumenthal on June 18, 2024, that aircraft parts labeled as 鈥渘on-conforming鈥� or inadequate sometimes ended up being used in newly built aircraft.听

Boeing reportedly only caught wind of the new allegations late on June 17, 2024, but said in a statement that it 鈥渃ontinuously encourages employees to report all concerns as our priority is to ensure the safety of our airplanes and the flying public鈥�.听

During the hearing Calhoun apologized face to face with relatives who lost loved ones on Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 鈥渇or the grief that we have caused鈥�.    

Boeing will now wait until July 7, 2024, to hear what steps the Justice Department will take against the company after it decided the Alaska Airlines incident did violate its 2021 deferred prosecution agreement with Boeing following the 737 MAX fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019.     

Following the hearing Senator Blumenthal told the : “I have a lot more questions that need to be answered and we’re going to be pursuing our investigation.”聽

New Boeing whistleblower claims released as CEO prepares to give testimony

• Aviation Safety

byIan Molyneaux

2024-06-18

According to , Senator Richard Blumenthal, who serves on the Subcommittee on Investigations, revealed details of the new whistleblower claims on June 18, 2024, in a memo from his office.听聽

Sam Mohawk, a Quality Assurance Inspector for Boeing in Renton, alleges that the company is cutting corners by losing track of parts that have been labeled as 鈥渘on-conforming鈥� or inadequate, according to Senator Blumenthal. 

Some parts get a second lease of life because they can be mended or were labeled incorrectly, but often they should be disposed of, according to Senator Blumenthal. 

Mohawk claims that the parts sometimes end up being used in newly built aircraft, according to Senator Blumenthal. 

“He said that he has been told by his supervisors to conceal this evidence from the FAA, and that he is being retaliated against as well,” Blumenthal said in a statement seen by media agencies. 

According to , the memo additionally said that Mohawk claimed as many as 400 faulty 737 MAX aircraft parts may have been lost and deleted from a cataloguing system, some of which may have been installed in new planes.  

Boeing reportedly only caught wind of the new allegations late on June 17, 2024.  

“We continuously encourage employees to report all concerns as our priority is to ensure the safety of our airplanes and the flying public,鈥� a Boeing spokesperson said in a statement to the media.  

Calhoun is expected to be grilled by senators over safety problems at the company, quality control and the treatment of whistleblowers when he appears at the subcommittee on June 18, 2024.    

Boeing are still searching for a new CEO to replace Calhoun after a number of potential candidates ruled themselves out of being considered. 

精东影业 has contacted Boeing for further comment on Sam Mohawk’s claims.

Boeing CEO search ongoing as talks with Spirit boss on hold and GE head declines

• Aircraft

byIan Molyneaux

2024-06-18

In a letter to FAA chief Michael Whittaker on April 4, 2024, Duckworth said that the 鈥渦nknown, undisclosed feature鈥� surprised the crew and resulted in an emergency checklist and a pilots鈥� headset being sucked out of the cockpit during the emergency. 

News that the cockpit door had flung open by itself during the Alaska Airlines 737-9 door plug blowout incident came to light when the National Transportation Safety Board Chair (NTSB) Jennifer Homendy spoke with reporters at a press briefing on January 8, 2024.听聽

Homendy said: 鈥淭he cockpit doors flew open immediately and at this point the flight attendant in the forward portion of the aircraft was standing. The cockpit door flew open, hit the lavatory door. The lavatory door got stuck. She did attempt to shut the door three times. It eventually shut, but it did blow open during the explosive decompression.鈥� 

In her letter to the FAA, Duckworth declared that it is critical that the flight crew are 鈥渇ully informed of all features on the flight deck鈥�. 

Duckworth said this was the third time that Boeing pilots have been kept in the 鈥渄ark鈥� on MAX aircraft.听聽

‘Boeing精东影业 failure to disclose this feature is chilling’

鈥淏oeing精东影业 failure to disclose this feature is chilling given its history of concealing 737 MAX information from pilots,鈥� Duckworth wrote.  

Citing the first example, Duckworth said in a press release that Boeing decided to 鈥渘ot include the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, MCAS, in the 737 MAX 8 flight manual, which left the flight crew on Lion Air flight 610 unaware of what was forcing their aircraft into a nose-dive”.听

Secondly, she said that Boeing decided to 鈥渘ot inform airlines or pilots that the Angle of Attack (AOA) disagree alert aboard most 737 MAX 8 jets was nonfunctional鈥�. 

鈥淭his is dangerous, and the FAA must not view this latest omission in isolation. Instead, FAA should consider regulatory action informed by Boeing精东影业 past pattern of deceptive conduct in developing and delivering the MAX series of aircraft and a strong commitment to avoid repeating past FAA mistakes in deferring to Boeing,鈥� Duckworth wrote in her letter to the FAA.  

Duckworth advised the FAA to work with the NTSB to discover why the Alaska Airlines crew were unaware the cockpit door would open during a rapid decompression.听聽

Wishing a happy birthday to Senator Tammy Duckworth! 馃帀 is the first Thai-American woman elected to U.S. Congress, the first woman with a disability elected to U.S. Congress, and the first Senator to give birth while serving in office.

— When We All Vote (@WhenWeAllVote)

鈥淭he FAA also needs to work with NTSB to consider whether other elements of the cockpit might need improvement in light of the previously undisclosed cockpit door design. Finally, as noted above, FAA must take into account that this is the third time Boeing has failed to disclose a flight deck feature to 737 MAX pilots,鈥� Duckworth精东影业 letter concluded.  

In a statement to in response to Duckworth精东影业 call, Boeing said that it was “committed to continued transparency and sharing information with our regulator and operators鈥�.听

Senator Duckworth is a member of the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (CST) and Chair of the CST Subcommittee on Aviation Safety, Operations and Innovation.

You can read the Senator Tammy Duckworth’s in full on her website.

Boeing pays Alaska Airlines $160M for lost profits following 737 MAX 9 grounding

• Airlines
• Aviation Safety

byIan Molyneaux

2024-04-04

On March 7, 2024, Homendy appeared in front of the committee and said that documentation which recorded the removal and reinstallation of the door plug during repair work to the 737-9 at the Boeing factory on September 19, 2023, had not been provided by the planemaker.听聽聽聽

Homendy also said attempts to take the names of 25 Boeing employees who may have worked on the door plug removal and reinstallation had so far been fruitless.   

At the hearing senators told Boeing to provide the NTSB with the information it needs and Homendy was instructed to advise the committee in writing of the outcome.  

In a addressed to Senator Maria Cantwell, the chair of the committee, on March 13, 2024, Homendy stated that Boeing had advised her that it was 鈥渦nable to find the records documenting鈥� the work carried out on the door plug and that security camera footage that could help obtain this information had been overwritten.听

鈥淭he absence of those records will complicate the NTSB精东影业 investigation moving forward,鈥� Homendy wrote. 

The names of the 25 staff members who reported to the door crew manager in September 2023, were subsequently provided by Boeing following the Senate Committee. However, the identity of those that specifically worked on the door plug was not singled out.  

鈥淎fter NTSB received this list, I called Boeing Chief Executive Officer David Calhoun and asked for the names of the people who performed the work. He stated he was unable to provide that information and maintained that Boeing has no records of the work being performed,鈥� Homendy wrote in her letter.听

Moving forward聽with investigation

Increasingly, concerned that it may be perceived that the NTSB is seeking to find out the names for 鈥減unitive purposes鈥�, Homendy wrote in her letter that that she only wished to 鈥渟peak with them to learn about Boeing精东影业 quality-assurance processes and safety culture鈥�. 

鈥淥ur only intent is to identify deficiencies and recommend safety improvements so accidents like this never happen again. In fact, our nation精东影业 aviation record is so safe precisely because of our well-established culture of non-punitive reporting,鈥� Homendy wrote. 

Accordingly, Homendy advised the committee that she has instructed the NTSB to 鈥渦tilize our authority to protect the identities of the door crew and other front-line employees who come forward with information relevant to the investigation鈥�. 

She added that she did not want the focus on individual names to 鈥渘egatively impact our investigation and discourage鈥� Boeing employees from coming forward. 

鈥淭he NTSB investigation, as with all our investigations, seeks to determine the probable cause of this accident and issue safety recommendations to prevent it from reoccurring. Our only goal is to ensure the increased safety of the flying public,鈥� Homendy concluded in her letter.听

Boeing responds after NTSB says 737 door plug documents and staff names withheld

• Aviation Safety

byIan Molyneaux

2024-03-07

Though many of the proposals are unlikely to pass through Congress, parts of the $7.3 trillion budget have caused concerns in the aviation sector, particularly those working within business aviation.  

Among the plans announced on March 11, 2024, were funding requests to hire more air traffic controllers and a proposition to increase the costs private jet users pay.  

Addressing the President精东影业 aims for aviation the Department of Transportation (DOT) said that the sector has been 鈥渄isproportionately funded by commercial air passengers鈥�.听

According to a statement by the DOT, 鈥渃ommercial passengers pay a 7.5% tax on the prices of their tickets plus a passenger facility charge up to $4.50鈥� while 鈥減rivate jets users only pay fuel surcharge taxes 鈥� roughly $0.22 per gallon of jet fuel鈥�. 

鈥淧rivate jets are 7% of flights handled by the FAA but contribute just 0.6% of the taxes that make up the Airport and Airway Trust Fund,鈥� the DOT said. 

Under President Biden精东影业 plans there would be a phased-in fuel fee increase to $1.06 per gallon for private jets. 

鈥淭his increase would phase in over five years, the first update in decades,鈥� the DOT added. 

In response to the announcement the (NBAA), which represents private jet users and those working in the industry, said the proposals would 鈥渉urt business aviation鈥�.听

鈥淭he Biden administration精东影业 sweeping plan would hurt business aviation and the jobs and communities that depend on it and make it harder for U.S. companies to compete in a global economy,鈥� NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen said. 鈥淎mong the proposals that single out business aviation for onerous treatment is a five-fold fuel tax increase, even though current fuel taxes already cover the incremental cost imposed on the aviation system. We urge Congress to tell the president that his gambit won鈥檛 fly with the citizens, companies and communities that rely on business aviation.鈥�  

Bolen noted that 鈥渂usiness aviation supports 1.2 million jobs and contributes $250 billion to GDP鈥� and that despite perceptions most private jets are used by small and mid-sized companies. 

The proposed budget also included $21.8 billion for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to in part fund the continuing effort to recruit 2,000 air traffic controllers and increase training capacity. 

鈥淥ur number one priority is safety. This budget will provide the FAA with the necessary resources to continue our essential safety work,鈥� FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said. 鈥淚t supports our efforts to increase air traffic controller hiring, modernize aging air traffic facilities, and enhance our safety oversight.鈥�    

The budget also included an $8 billion commitment over five years to invest in aviation safety, efficiency, and facilities, including facility replacement and radar modernization, plus $1.8 billion for the Office of Aviation Safety to support production oversight and continued operational safety.   

鈥淭he FAA took decisive actions after the January 5 Boeing 737-9 incident to bolster its oversight activities and the proposed FY25 budget boosts the FAA精东影业 resources for continuous safety improvement,鈥� the agency said.听

FAA awards 114 US airports share of nearly $1 billion to modernize terminals

• Airport

byIan Molyneaux

2024-02-15

鈥淐ongress has to act fast for real relief. The emergency relief that came late in December was critical, but it was just 鈥榓 down payment,鈥� a 鈥榖ridge to real relief鈥�,鈥� the president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), representing 20 airlines鈥� workers, Sara Nelson, said.

This is why Congress has to act fast for real relief. The emergency relief that came late in December was critical, but it was just 鈥渁 down payment,鈥� a 鈥渂ridge to real relief.鈥� Finally taking on the virus means public health coupled with financial support for Americans

鈥� Sara Nelson (@FlyingWithSara)

In an effort to extend the payroll aid, American Airlines CEO Doug Parker also said its unions were talking to lawmakers about more financial aid for the cash-strapped airline sector once the current payroll support program expires on April 1, 2021, according to Reuters.  

American Airlines posts $8.9 billion loss in challenging 2020

• Aviation Economics & Finance

byClement Charpentreau

2021-01-28

On December 27, 2020, president Donald Trump signed a relief bill that provided US airlines with a $15 billion state aid. The $15 billion helped US airlines to recall furloughed workers and pay the employee wages and benefits. 

Trump signs relief bill: $15 billion aid for US airlines

• Civil Aviation

byElzbieta Visnevskyte

2020-12-28

Airlines previously received $25 billion under the CARES Act in March 2020. The aid helped them to pay staff and avoid job cuts until October 2020.

After 18 months of investigation, the Democratic majority of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has published a 239-page final report detailing a 鈥渄isturbing pattern of technical miscalculations and troubling management misjudgments made by Boeing鈥� during the development of the 737 MAX, as well as oversight lapses from the FAA.

鈥淏oeing failed in its design and development of the MAX, and the FAA failed in its oversight of Boeing and its certification of the aircraft,鈥� the report states. 鈥淭he MAX crashes were not the result of a singular failure, technical mistake, or mismanaged event. They were the horrific culmination of a series of faulty technical assumptions by Boeing精东影业 engineers, a lack of transparency on the part of Boeing精东影业 management, and grossly insufficient oversight by the FAA.鈥�

The Committee report points at 鈥渇aulty design and performance assumptions鈥� made by Boeing, especially on the MCAS system. The fact that the system was acting on non-redundant sensors, its classification as a non-critical system and the assumption that pilots would be able to counteract a malfunction are criticized. 

It condemns a 鈥渃ulture of concealment鈥� from the manufacturer, specifically regarding the absence of Angle of Attack (AOA) Disagree alert on the delivered aircraft. 

The safety of the Boeing 737 MAX was further undermined by pressure from the company精东影业 management to keep the production on schedule to compete with Airbus鈥� new A320neo aircraft, and to avoid any unnecessary costs.

Those findings echo the report of the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation (DOT) published on June 29, 2020, which found out that Boeing deflected the attention of the FAA away from the MCAS system, and put 鈥渦ndue pressure鈥� on its employees assigned to the certification of the aircraft.

Boeing deflected FAA attention from 737 MAX MCAS system

• Aircraft

byClement Charpentreau

2020-10-22

The oversight capacity of the FAA is also questioned. 鈥淭he FAA failed to fully exercise its oversight authority and this failure adversely affected safety,鈥� says the report. 鈥淭he agency did not ask enough questions or sufficiently scrutinize Boeing responses regarding critical certification-related issues involving pilot training and technical design.鈥�

鈥淭hese issues must be addressed by both Boeing and the FAA in order to correct poor certification practices that have emerged, reassess key assumptions that affect safety, and enhance transparency to enable more effective oversight,鈥� concludes the Committee.

Following the publication of the report, Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio qualified the certification of the aircraft as 鈥渕ind-boggling.鈥� 鈥淲e’re going to take steps in our legislation to see that it never happens again as we reform the system,” DeFazio promised.

Two Republican representatives, Sam Graves of Missouri and Garret Graves of Louisiana that are part of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, questioned the objectivity of the investigation. 鈥淓xpert recommendations have already led to changes and reforms, with more to come,鈥� the representatives said in a joint statement. 鈥淭hese recommendations 鈥� not a partisan investigative report 鈥� should serve as the basis for Congressional action.鈥�

Ex-737 MAX executive: I don鈥檛 believe that there was mistake made

• Aircraft

byRytis Beresnevicius

2020-10-22

Let’s start from the beginning.

The bill requires U.S.-based aircraft manufacturers to adopt safety management systems 鈥渢hrough which employees can report hazards, issues, concerns, occurrences, and incidents.鈥�  If the bill was to pass, whistleblower protection would apply to those employees.

It calls for the creation of an expert review panel to evaluate if a manufacturer精东影业 safety culture is 鈥渃onsistent with the principles of the International Civil Aviation Organization Safety Management Manual.鈥� The panel would be composed of experts from the FAA, NASA, and 鈥渁ir carrier employees whose job responsibilities include administration of a safety management system.鈥�

The result of the review would condition the FAA精东影业 decision on the Organization Designation Authorization (ODA), the mechanism used by the regulator to delegate some of the certification work of the 737 MAX to Boeing engineers. 

In July 2020, the U.S. Department of Transportation found out that ODA-certified employees had suffered several instances of 鈥渦ndue pressure鈥� from Boeing during the 737 MAX development. The following month, the FAA proposed two separate fines for Boeing, totaling $1.25 million, after the manufacturer鈥榮 managers were found to have interfered with the work of ODA unit members at the North Charleston site, South Carolina, where Boeing produces the 787 Dreamliner. 

According to the new legislation, any interference with the work of ODA delegates would be exposed to a civil penalty.

FAA to fine Boeing for tampering at 787 Dreamliner plant

• Civil Aviation

byRytis Beresnevicius

2020-08-06

Additionally, the manufacturer would be required to notify the regulator of each proposed design change determined as significant, and provide a safety assessment considering 鈥渁irplane-level effects of individual errors, malfunctions, or failures and realistic pilot response times to such errors, malfunctions, or failures related to such change.鈥� In 2019, a report of the National Transportation Safety Board suggested that Boeing had underestimated pilots鈥� response time in case of an emergency.

Overall, the bill institutionalizes recommendations that emerged from the investigations of several safety authorities into both the Boeing 737 MAX crashes and its design and certification process. 

鈥淲ith the comprehensive legislation we are unveiling today, I believe history can also show this was the moment Congress stepped up to meaningfully address the gaps in the regulatory system for certifying aircraft and adopt critical reforms that will improve public safety and ensure accountability at all levels going forward,鈥� commented Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio.

The new legislation received support from both parties, including Republican representative Sam Graves, who had questioned the 鈥減artisan鈥� investigative report published by the Democratic majority of the committee earlier in the month. It is also supported by several air transport industry trade unions, including the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). The House is due to vote on the proposed reforms on September 30, 2020.

Congress finds “disturbing” errors in Boeing 737 MAX development

• Aircraft

byClement Charpentreau

2020-10-22