WASHINGTON, April 1 (Reuters) -

Boeing ( BA ) CEO Kelly Ortberg will tell lawmakers on

Wednesday the U.S. planemaker made "serious missteps" in recent

years but has since made "sweeping changes" after a January 2024

mid-air emergency involving a new 737 MAX.

"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 tell the Senate Commerce Committee, according to

written testimony seen by Reuters. "No one is more committed to

turning our company around than our team."

Ortberg took over in August after the planemaker's prior CEO

Dave Calhoun announced his resignation in the aftermath of last

year's mid-air panel blowout on a new Alaska Airlines

737 MAX 9 airplane that was missing four key bolts.

After the incident, the U.S. Federal Aviation

Administration imposed a production cap of 38 planes per month

on the 737 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 incident and two fatal crashes in

2018 and 2019 killed 346 people.

"Culture is perhaps the most predominant change we are

making as a company," Ortberg's testimony said, adding company

leaders are "spending more time listening and learning from our

employees, working to restore trust, and holding leadership

accountable."

The prior head of the

FAA said it could take years to change

Boeing's ( BA ) culture.

Duffy said the FAA is not ready to lift the monthly 737

MAX production cap.

In July, 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. The Justice

Department said Boeing ( BA ) allowed potentially risky work at its

factories and did not ensure key airplane record-keeping was

accurate.

A U.S.

judge last week set a June 23 trial date i

n Boeing ( BA ) case after a report that Boeing ( BA ) was seeking to

withdraw from the terms of its plea agreement.

Ortberg also said Boeing ( BA ) expects to finalize the

acquisition of Spirit AeroSystems ( SPR ) later "which is key to

delivering for our commercial and defense customers and will

help

improve overall performance and quality."