Boeing CEO admits ‘mistakes’ in handling 737 issues

Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said Sunday at the Paris Air Show that his company made a “mistake” in dealing with problems associated with 737 Max jets before two crashes in a six-month span killed more than 300 passengers and crew members. The crashes involving an Ethiopian Airlines flight in March and a Lion Air crash in Indonesia in October 2018 were blamed on a faulty cockpit safety indicator. Although the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing have both said the indicator is not vital to safety, the FAA blames Boeing for hiding the problem from airlines and regulators.

“We clearly had a mistake in the implementation of the alert,” Muilenburg said, adding that he considered Boeing’s communication after the crashes with investigators and the public “not consistent” and “not acceptable.” Muilenburg also promised more transparency from the company in response to plummeting investor and consumer trust. Various governmental agencies around the world have grounded the 737 Max for more than three months as investigators try to confirm that the plane is ready for redeployment.

An FAA report released earlier this month highlighted possible faulty parts in more than 300 Boeing aircraft.