Outgoing Boeing CEO David Calhoun appeared before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations on Tuesday to testify about the recent series of safety failures that have plagued the airplane manufacturer since last year. While Calhoun issued an unexpected apology to the families of victims killed in crashes involving Boeing 737 Max jets, he adamantly defended the company’s safety standards against senators’ criticism and a growing number of whistleblower reports.
Ahead of the hearing, Calhoun stood to face the crowd in the Senate chamber, which included family members of those killed in the crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 off Indonesia in 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 near Addis Ababa in 2019. The two flights, both Boeing 737 Max jets, were linked to faulty flight control systems.
“I apologize for the grief that we have caused,” Calhoun said. “And I want you to know that we are totally committed in their memory to work and focus on safety for as long as we are employed by Boeing.”
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Calhoun then turned to face a panel of senators led by Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CN), a longtime critic of Boeing’s operation. Throughout the hearing, Blumenthal accused Calhoun of betraying past promises to improve standards at the company, suppressing whistleblower reports, and deceiving the public. When Calhoun took over as CEO in 2020, just after the two 737 crashes, he had pledged to update Boeing’s safety practices to prevent repeat incidents.
“For a while, some started to believe that Boeing might have changed,” Blumenthal, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee, said in prepared remarks. “But then, this past January, the facade quite literally blew off the hollow shell that had been Boeing’s promises to the world. And once that chasm was exposed, we learned that there was virtually no bottom to the void that lay below.”
“The issues before us today have real human consequences [and] real Life and death results,” the senator said. “Mr. Calhoun, you were brought in to turn this company around. But instead of asking what has caused Boeing’s safety culture to erode, you and your colleagues in the C-suite have deflected blame, looked the other way, and catered to your shareholders instead.”
Related: Boeing Submits Safety Improvement Plan to FAA
Calhoun also faced harsh criticism from Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), who repeatedly asked how the CEO justified his massive salary. Calhoun, who announced in March that he will be retiring from Boeing by the end of the year, earned $32.8 million last year.
“You’re focused on exactly what you were hired to do, which is that you’re cutting corners. You are eliminating safety procedures. You are sticking it to your employees. You are cutting back jobs because you’re trying to squeeze every piece of profit you can out of this company,” Hawley said. “You’re strip-mining it. You’re strip-mining Boeing.”
“Senator I’m sticking this through,” Calhoun replied. “I’m proud of having taken the job. I’m proud of our safety record. And I am very proud of our Boeing people.”
“You’re proud of the safety record?” Hawley shot back.
“I am proud of every action we’ve taken,” Calhoun said.
“Frankly sir,” Hawley retorted, “I think it’s a travesty that you’re still in your job.”
Exchange between Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Boeing CEO David Calhoun on compensation and transparency.
Hawley: "What is it that you get paid, currently?"
Calhoun: "It's well disclosed…it's a big number."
Hawley: "It's $32.8 million this year…that's a 45% increase…" pic.twitter.com/LM21Th5HCs
— CSPAN (@cspan) June 18, 2024
Prior to Calhoun’s testimony, the Senate panel received a 204-page whistleblower report from Boeing quality assurance investigator Sam Mohawk, who claims that the company hid evidence of “nonconforming parts” on planes from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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