WASHINGTON, June 17 (Reuters) - Boeing ( BA ) CEO Dave
Calhoun will tell a U.S. Senate committee on Tuesday that the
planemaker understands concerns about its safety culture after a
January mid-air emergency involving an Alaska Airlines
737 MAX 9 raised widespread alarm.
"Much has been said about Boeing's ( BA ) culture. We've heard
those concerns loud and clear. Our culture is far from perfect,
but we are taking action and making progress," Calhoun will tell
the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, according
to his written statement seen by Reuters.
"I know full well that this is an industry where we simply
must get it right, every time."
Since the Jan. 5 mid-air blowout of a door plug on a 737 MAX
9 jet, scrutiny of the planemaker by regulators and airlines has
intensified. Boeing ( BA ) has shaken up management and Calhoun said in
March that he will step down by year-end.
Calhoun will tell the Senate committee that Boeing ( BA ) has
"listened to our employees and acted on their ideas. We have
brought in an independent quality expert to assess our
processes."
Boeing ( BA ) is in talks to re-acquire Spirit AeroSystems ( SPR ),
the manufacturer of the 737 MAX fuselage.
Last week, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration
said the agency was "too hands off" in its oversight of Boeing ( BA )
before the Jan. 5 accident.