Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg faced numerous calls from lawmakers to resign as the aerospace giant grapples with the fallout from two deadly downings of its embattled 737 Max.
Several members of the House Transportation Committee, who pummeled Muilenburg with questions about the jet, expressed dismay about Muilenburg’s multimillion-dollar compensation and whether he was taking responsibility for the crashes that killed all 346 passengers on board.
“Mr. Muilenburg, you’re still the captain of this ship. A culture of negligence, incompetence, or corruption starts at the top, and it starts with you. You padded your personal finances by putting profits over safety, and now 346 people, including eight Americans, are dead on your watch,” Rep. Jesus Garcia, D-Illinois, said. “I think it’s time that you submitted your resignation.”
Rep. Paul Mitchell, R-Michigan, told the Boeing head he would’ve stepped down from his position “because I’m responsible,” and Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, D-Florida, said Muilenburg has to “take full responsibility of the negligence of these two flights.”
“If you had an ounce of integrity, you would know that the right thing is to step down,” she said.
Muilenburg was stripped of his title as the chairman of Boeing’s board of directors following the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes but said he has not offered to resign and has not submitted a letter of resignation to the board.
[Related: Lawmakers lash Boeing head for making millions in wake of deadly 737 Max crashes]
“I am responsible. These two accidents happened on my watch. I feel responsible to see this through,” Muilenburg told lawmakers.
The two crashes occurred in a span of five months, and an issue with the 737 Max’s automated anti-stall feature played a role in both downings.
Boeing has since completed a software patch to address the issue with the feature, called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, and has made additional software enhancements.
The fleet of 737 Max has remained grounded since mid-March, and it’s not clear when the planes will be given the green light to return to service. Boeing, however, said it expects the jets will fly again before the end of the year.
Muilenburg’s testimony before the House Transportation Committee marked his second appearance before Congress in so many days. On Tuesday, he fielded questions before the Senate Commerce Committee.
