Boeing apologizes for MAX 9 incident

Boeing CEO Stan Deal apologizes for the door seal failure on an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 and pledges to fix it.

“Our long-term focus is on improving quality so we can regain the trust of our customers, regulators and the flying public,” Stan Deal, Boeing’s chief executive of commercial airplanes, wrote in a message to employees on January 26. “Frankly, we have let them down. We are deeply sorry.”

Stan Deal, CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, at a press conference at Paris–Le Bourget Airport, France in June 2023. Photo: AFP

Deal's apology came three weeks after a door panel on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 broke open, creating a large hole that sucked in luggage at an altitude of nearly 5,000 meters on January 5. All 177 passengers and crew members on board were safe thanks to the pilot's handling skills.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) immediately requested all 171 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft in the country to temporarily stop flying for inspection and close monitoring of the manufacturer Boeing.

Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci said on January 23 that inspections had found loose screws on a number of Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft. "I'm not just disappointed, I'm really angry," Minicucci said, calling on Boeing to "improve its internal quality processes."

The US Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the incident and is expected to report its findings next week.

Alaska Airlines, a major user of the 737 MAX 9, began returning the planes to service on January 26. United Airlines, which has the world's largest MAX 9 fleet with 79 planes, followed suit a day later.

Analysts say the decision to ground the MAX 9 could cost airlines millions of dollars.

In the weeks after the Alaska Airlines incident, Boeing took several steps “to enhance quality control and assurance,” including adding new levels of quality inspections for the affected aircraft and appointing former Navy Admiral Kirkland Donald to oversee an independent review of Boeing’s safety and quality practices, Deal said.

This week, the 10,000 Boeing employees involved in 737 MAX production paused for a day to discuss how to improve safety measures. “This is a quality review on a scale we have never done before,” Mr. Deal said.

He added that along with Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, Aeromexico and Turkish Airlines will return the 737 MAX 9 to service "in the coming days".

Huyen Le (According to AFP )

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