Written by David Shepardson and Alison Lambert
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Boeing (NYSE:) CEO Dave Calhoun will testify before a U.S. Senate committee on June 18 after a series of accidents raised safety and quality concerns and prompted regulators to cap the planemaker's production of its best-selling planes. 737. The highest.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who chairs the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, said Calhoun will testify on a series of issues.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in February barred Boeing from ramping up production of the 737 MAX after a door panel exploded during a Jan. 5 flight on a 737 MAX 9 operated by Alaska Airlines.
Blumenthal said that after two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people, “Boeing made a promise to reform its safety practices and culture. That promise has proven to be empty, and the American people deserve an explanation.”
Calhoun said he will leave by the end of the year as part of a broader management shakeup, as Boeing faces multiple government investigations and pressure from investors and airlines to find a new CEO.
Longtime Boeing Board Member W General Electric (NYSE:) veteran took over leadership of the company in 2020 after ousting his scandal-plagued predecessor.
Among the contenders for the top job at Boeing are Spirit AeroSystems (NYSE:) CEO Pat Shanahan and Boeing Commercial Airplanes President Stephanie Pope, according to industry sources.
Boeing said it welcomed Calhoun's opportunity to discuss its procedures to enhance safety and quality during his Senate testimony.
During an April hearing before Blumenthal's committee, a Boeing engineer testified that the company took dangerous manufacturing shortcuts with certain planes and sidelined him when he raised safety concerns, which the company disputes.
Blumenthal said Calhoun's testimony was a necessary step to meaningfully address Boeing's failures, restore public trust and restore its central role in the American economy and national defense.
The committee said Howard McKenzie, Boeing's chief engineer, will accompany Calhoun, but will not testify.
The Senate Commerce Committee said late Wednesday that FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker will testify before the committee on June 13 about the agency's oversight of Boeing and other aircraft manufacturers.
In late February, Whitaker gave Boeing a 90-day deadline to develop a comprehensive plan to address “systemic quality control issues.”
The US Justice Department said last month that Boeing had violated its obligations in the 2021 agreement that protects the plane maker from criminal prosecution over the deadly 737 MAX crashes. Boeing also faces a criminal investigation into the Alaska Airlines incident.
Boeing said it believed it had respected the terms of the deferred prosecution agreement.
