Boeing CEO to tell US Congress planemaker’s culture is ‘far from perfect’ By Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Boeing 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 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 (NYSE:) 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 has “listened to our employees and acted on their ideas. We have brought in an independent quality expert to assess our processes.”

Boeing is in talks to re-acquire Spirit AeroSystems (NYSE:), 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 before the Jan. 5 accident.