Boeing Organizes Comprehensive Safety Gathering at 737 Max Manufacturing Plant Amid Ongoing Crisis
Boeing executives call for an urgent all-hands safety meeting at the 737 Max factory following a recent inflight blowout incident, leading to the grounding of specific Boeing aircraft Stay updated on the ongoing investigation and explore Boeing's dramatic decline in reputation
Boeing executives are organizing a company-wide safety meeting for all employees on Tuesday, following a frightening in-flight engine failure on a 737 Max 9 aircraft that resulted in the grounding of some Boeing planes. The "Safety Webcast" will be led by CEO Dave Calhoun and other senior leaders at the company's Renton, Washington, factory, which manufactures 737 Max jets.
An Alaska Airlines flight with 177 passengers had to make an emergency landing on Friday after a part of the plane's wall detached, leaving a hole in the side. The FAA then ordered the grounding of most Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft while they investigate the incident. Despite the dramatic midflight scare, there were no fatalities or severe injuries.
Calhoun stated that the agenda for the upcoming Tuesday meeting will involve a discussion about the company's reaction to the accident. This information was shared through an internal memo that was publicly posted by Boeing, inviting all employees to participate.
In his memo, Calhoun emphasized the significance of every decision and action concerning the safety of the company's products and services. He highlighted the importance of working transparently with customers and regulators to thoroughly comprehend and resolve the causes of such serious accidents, and to prevent their recurrence.
Calhoun also mentioned the increasing safety concerns that Boeing has had to address in the past few years after the two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019. "While we have made improvements in our safety management and quality control systems, incidents like this serve as a reminder that we must stay committed to ongoing improvement," the CEO stated.
Update on the investigation
The cause of the sudden opening of a hole the size of a refrigerator on the passenger aircraft on Friday is still under investigation. A preliminary report is expected in three to four weeks, according to National Transportation Safety Board spokesperson Eric Weiss.
The NTSB noted on Monday night that they are still recovering objects that were blown out of the plane. Over the weekend, a piece of the aircraft's fuselage landed in a Portland schoolteacher's backyard, prompting them to reach out to the agency. Additionally, two cell phones believed to have been flung from the hole in the plane were found in a yard and on the side of the road, and were handed over to investigators.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has successfully retrieved the missing door plug from Alaska Airlines flight 1282, a Boeing 737 MAX 9 that suffered a rapid decompression while flying over Portland, Oregon on Friday. Images released by the NTSB show the retrieved door plug.
NTSB
Missing part of Alaska Airlines plane is found in Portland, Oregon, NTSB says, as new details emerge about the aircraft
During a press conference, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy stated that Alaska Airlines had previously restricted the aircraft involved in the recent incident from flying over the ocean after encountering repeated automatic pressurization warnings. Homendy stressed that the NTSB has found no evidence linking this issue to the incident in which a piece of the plane detached.
She also mentioned that the investigation was made more complex by the absence of critical cockpit audio recordings, as the device overrides recordings after two hours. Homendy called for the FAA and Congress to mandate the retention of 24-hour cockpit audio recordings in all aircraft.
As investigators continue to analyze data and eyewitness reports and inspect the aircraft, the initial findings from the investigation are chilling. The damage spread across multiple rows on the plane. The two seats beside the detached door plug were fortunately unoccupied at the time of the blowout, but their headrests were torn off, as stated by Homendy.
Although the video footage of the incident appears serene, Homendy is certain that the actual situation was incredibly chaotic.
Boeing released a company statement on Saturday expressing agreement with the FAA's decision to ground most 737 Max 9 planes for inspection, underscoring their commitment to safety. The following Monday, the company provided airlines and maintenance companies with instructions for conducting the necessary inspections. Additionally, United Airlines, the leading US carrier for Max 9s, discovered loose door plug bolts on a number of its Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft during the mandated FAA inspections on Monday. Alaska Airlines also reported finding loose hardware on some of its 737 Max 9 planes during inspections on the same day.
Boeing's Decline: Friday's high-profile incident has brought renewed attention to the company's recent struggles. Over the past five years, Boeing has encountered recurring problems with the quality and safety of its aircraft, resulting in the extended grounding of certain jets and a suspension in deliveries of others.
The 737 Max's design posed the most significant quality issues for Boeing, resulting in two fatal crashes in Indonesia in October 2018 and Ethiopia in March 2019. These tragic incidents claimed the lives of all 346 passengers on board, leading to a 20-month grounding of the company's top-selling jets and resulting in a loss of over $21 billion. The design flaws that led to the crashes raised concerns about Boeing's decision-making process. Internal communications revealed during the 737 Max grounding included an employee's description of the jet as "designed by clowns, who in turn are supervised by monkeys."
Alaska Airlines flight makes emergency landing in Oregon after window appears to have blown out after takeoff.
Kyle Rinker
A harrowing 10-minute flight further exacerbates Boeing's longstanding quality control issues. This latest safety incident also highlights the reality that Boeing is unlikely to face closure despite its extensive mistakes. With Boeing and Airbus being the only major global aviation companies, both struggling to meet the overwhelming demand for commercial aircraft and facing years-long backlogs of orders, the competition seems to be in no imminent danger of going out of business.
Boeing's stock plummeted by 8% on Monday amid investor concerns of further damage to its business.
This report includes contributions from CNN's Chris Isidore, Gregory Wallace, Pete Muntean, and Taylor Romine.
