Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg made a “personal commitment” to lawmakers Tuesday that the aerospace giant is doing all it can to ensure its planes are safer following two fatal crashes and the grounding of Boeing’s 737 Max.
Muilenburg is appearing before the Senate Commerce Committee for the first time since the crashes, which occurred within five months and killed all 346 passengers on board. He is expected to face tough questions from members on the timeline for certification of the 737 Max, testing of the anti-stall system linked to the incidents, and its eventual return to commercial service.
“We know we made mistakes and got some things wrong,” Muilenburg will say in prepared remarks to the committee. “We own that, and we are fixing them.”
The hearing is occurring on the first anniversary of the Lion Air flight crash in Indonesia. The second crash, an Ethiopian Airlines flight, occurred in March.
“Please know that we carry the memory of these accidents, and of your loved ones, with us every day,” Muilenburg will say. “They will never be forgotten, and these tragedies will continue to drive us to do everything we can to make our airplanes and our industry safety.”
Following the crashes, the Federal Aviation Administration followed its international counterparts and grounded the 737 Max, which has remained ongoing and roiled flight schedules for the three U.S. carriers that fly the jets. As a result of the grounding and issues with the 737 Max, Boeing’s bottom line has also taken a hit as it cut production of the jets.
Implicated in the incidents was the jet’s anti-stall system, called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System. The software was found to have fed the plane’s computer system inaccurate data on its angle-of-attack, which led to a struggle between the system and the pilot.
Boeing completed a software patch for the anti-stall system in May, but the 737 Max has yet to be recertified and return to commercial service.
The Chicago-based company said last week, however, it expects the jets to be back in the air by the end of the year.
Muilenburg will tell lawmakers Boeing has spent over 100,000 engineering and test hours on the development of improvements to the 737 Max and flown more than 800 test flights with updated software. The plane-maker has also conducted simulator sessions with 545 participants.
“This process has taken longer than we originally expected, but we’re committed to getting it right, and return-to-service timing is completely dependent on answering each and every question from the FAA,” Muilenburg will say, noting he has participated in two demonstration flights himself.
In addition to testifying before the Senate Commerce Committee on Tuesday, Muilenburg will appear before the House Transportation Committee on Wednesday.
