Boeing CEO to Senate: “We Made Mistakes and Learned Our Lesson”

WASHINGTON- Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg appeared before Congress on Wednesday, April 2nd, with a clear message: “Boeing has made serious mistakes but has an improvement plan to move forward.”

Lawmakers expressed continued concerns about factory practices and board oversight while acknowledging they want Boeing to succeed.

Photo Compiled by Aviation A2Z

Boeing is Changing for the Good

Ortberg testified before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, emphasizing Boeing’s commitment to quality and safety.

The hearing examined Boeing’s response to safety concerns following the January 2024 incident when a panel blew off a Boeing 737 MAX 9 plane shortly after takeoff, leaving a hole in the aircraft.

This incident renewed doubts about Boeing’s safety culture, coming after two MAX 8 crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. Senator Ted Cruz noted the company had “created an unsustainable lack of safety culture.” Senator Maria Cantwell observed that Ortberg “delivered a welcome change in tone” regarding safety at Boeing.

The CEO attributed responsibility to Spirit Aerosystems for the missing components but assured that Boeing and airlines had completed inspections of all Boeing aircraft to confirm that no other issues existed. Ortberg added that manufacturing defects in components from Spirit have decreased by 50%.

Photo- Boeing

Improvement Plan

Boeing’s changes focus on four areas:

1. Reducing production defects
2. Enhancing employee training
3. Simplifying procedures
4. Elevating safety culture

The company implemented a “move ready” process that prevents advancing aircraft through production with unfinished tasks. Of 800 safety risk assessments performed, Boeing has halted production 200 times to complete work.

Boeing plans to implement a mandatory safety management system by October and has increased data collection on planes in service to monitor operations and maintenance.

Ortberg acknowledged Boeing’s economic importance as a major U.S. exporter and defense manufacturer.

Cultural Transformation

“Culture is the predominant change we are making as a company,” Ortberg stated. Boeing leadership will spend more time listening to employees and holding leaders accountable.

Unlike previous executives, Ortberg moved to Seattle when taking the CEO position because “I believe our leadership needs to get closer to the people designing and building our aircraft.”

Critics argue that Boeing must take responsibility for past mistakes. Attorneys representing a Boeing whistleblower’s family said, “They’ve been trying to ride two horses — one saying it’s a new Boeing and we’re on top of it, but on the other hand, trying to defend what happened in the past.”

Photo- Boeing

Employee Input Concerns

Lawmakers pressed for greater employee involvement in high-level decisions. Senator Cruz directly invited Boeing employees to contact him if they wanted to discuss Boeing’s progress.

Senator Ed Markey suggested new legislation requiring an employee representative on Boeing’s board of directors, noting the current board lacks aviation industry expertise despite Boeing’s claims of safety experience.

Ortberg defended the board’s composition, saying “having a diverse set of inputs helps us think through and benchmark” practices from other industries.

Self-Certification Issues

Senator Cantwell raised “critical concerns” about Boeing’s Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) program, which allows the company to certify its work. She sent a letter to the FAA’s acting administrator urging the agency to address these concerns before renewing Boeing’s authorization next month.

Ortberg described changes to Boeing’s ODA program, including adding an ombudsman for employees performing FAA tasks and protecting those workers from internal performance review concerns.

Senator Tammy Duckworth pressed Ortberg not to accept oversight authorization from the FAA until Boeing had fixed regulatory compliance issues, saying this would “look like Boeing is taking advantage of a hobbled regulator.”

Photo- LLBG Spotter; Wikimedia Commons

MAX Crashes Investigation

Senator Cruz asked if manufacturing errors might have contributed to the fatal MAX crashes. Whistleblowers have alleged that electrical wiring defects may have caused sensor failures that triggered the MCAS system responsible for the crashes.

Ortberg stated he was “not aware of any electrical wiring issues” and maintained that “the cause of the crash was the MCAS design,” which has since been redesigned on all aircraft.

Army Helicopter Crash Concerns

Lawmakers also discussed a January collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines (AA) plane near Washington D.C., killing 67 people. The Army helicopter had its surveillance tracking system turned off.

Cruz and Cantwell requested information from the Defense Department about this system but received no response. “What doesn’t the Army want Congress or the American people to know about why it was flying blind to the other aircraft or air traffic control?” Cruz questioned.

N709PS, the aircraft involved in the accident; Photo- Wikipedia

Boeing’s Troubled Past, a Commitment to Change

Taking over as CEO of America’s biggest exporter in August 2024, Kelly Ortberg recognized Boeing’s previous failures while highlighting the comprehensive reforms put in place to strengthen safety protocols and manufacturing methods.

The CEO revealed that Boeing has integrated internal Large Language Models (LLM), algorithms, and data analytics to improve assembly instructions and maintenance documentation, making them clearer and more concise to enhance aircraft safety and quality.

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