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

Ortberg will face tough questions on the planemaker's recent

safety issues and other hot-button topics on Wednesday when he

appears before the Senate Commerce Committee.

Lawmakers have been scrutinizing the company since a January

2024 mid-air emergency involving a new 737 MAX 9 that was

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

quality and safety culture, as well as regulatory oversight.

"New leadership at Boeing ( BA ) will get a chance to tell Congress

how they are implementing new safety standards and creating a

stronger safety culture," said Senator Maria Cantwell, the top

Democrat on the committee.

Ortberg will tell senators Boeing ( BA ) made "serious missteps" in

recent years but has since made "sweeping changes", according to

a copy of prepared testimony seen by Reuters and confirmed by

the planemaker.

"Boeing ( BA ) has made serious missteps in recent years - and it

is unacceptable. In response, we have made sweeping changes to

the people, processes, and overall structure of our company,"

Ortberg will say in his written testimony.

Ortberg told employees in a separate email the hearing

"is an important step in our work together to restore trust in

Boeing ( BA )."

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.

In February, President Donald Trump said he was not happy

with Boeing ( BA ) and might have to go a different route with the next

generation of Air Force One, the presidential transport planes.

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.

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.

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.