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Boeing ( BA ) CEO says planemaker has made drastic changes after

mid-air emergency

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Boeing ( BA ) aims to reduce defects in parts received for

production

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Lawmakers say Boeing ( BA ) must fix culture, focus on safety

(Adds more details from hearing comments in paragraphs 1-3, 6)

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, April 2 (Reuters) - Boeing ( BA ) CEO Kelly

Ortberg said on Wednesday that the planemaker is focused on

improving safety and not pressuring workers to speed up

production after a 2024 mid-air 737 MAX 9 emergency.

"I'm not pressuring the team to go fast. I'm pressuring the

team to do it right," Ortberg said at a U.S. Senate Commerce

Committee hearing, adding that he was hopeful the company could

resume producing 38 Boeing 737 MAX planes per month later this

year and then surpass that, but was not committing to a date.

"I suspect it will be sometime this year," Ortberg said. He

said airlines are frustrated by delivery delays but support the

approach. "They know we've got to do this right."

Lawmakers have been scrutinizing the company since a January

2024 mid-air emergency involving a new MAX 9 that was missing

four key bolts raised fresh questions about Boeing's ( BA ) quality and

safety culture, as well as regulatory oversight.

"We've made drastic changes to our internal process to

ensure that this will never happen again," Ortberg said.

After the incident, the Federal Aviation Administration

imposed a production cap of 38 planes per month on the 737 MAX.

Boeing ( BA ) is still awaiting FAA approval of two new versions of the

MAX.

"Insufficient oversight of third-party suppliers and a lack

of sufficient internal auditing procedures created an

unsustainable, lack of safety culture at Boeing ( BA )," said Senate

Commerce Committee chair Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas.

Ortberg told senators Boeing ( BA ) made "serious missteps" in

recent years but has since made "sweeping changes."

Ortberg may also face questions on other issues, including

the company's delayed Air Force One delivery schedule, the

impact of tariffs and the status of the planemaker's criminal

case involving representations it made about the 737 MAX before

fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 killed 346 people.

Ortberg took over as CEO in August of last year. His

predecessor Dave Calhoun announced his resignation shortly after

the January mid-air incident, in which an Alaska Airlines door

panel blew out, and testified before a Senate panel in July.

Last month, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Boeing ( BA )

had lost the trust of the American people and needed strict

oversight after the Alaska Airlines incident and two fatal

crashes.

The prior head of the FAA said it could take years to change

Boeing's ( BA ) culture.

In July of last year, Boeing ( BA ) agreed to plead guilty to a

criminal fraud conspiracy charge and pay at least $243.6 million

after breaching a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement.

A U.S. judge last week set a June 23 trial date in the case

after a media report that Boeing ( BA ) was seeking to withdraw from

the terms of its plea agreement.