Boeing boss 'deeply sorry' after fatal plane crashes in Ethopia and Indonesia

Boeing Co Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg speaks at a conference on Monday
REUTERS
Ella Wills29 April 2019

Boeing's chief executive today said the firm is "deeply sorry for the loss of life" after fatal plane crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia led to the grounding of its 737 Max aircraft.

Chairman and CEO Dennis Muilenberg on Monday addressed shareholders and reporters for the first time since more than 300 people were killed in two Boeing crashes in the space of six months.

He said top engineers at the company "have been working tirelessly" since the 737 MAX jets were grounded "to finalise and implement a software update that will ensure accidents like these never happen again".

At the meeting in Chicago, Mr Muilenberg vowed the new features will make the jet "one of the safest ever to fly".

He added that the company is "deeply sorry for the loss of life and send our condolences" following the air accidents.

"We are humbled and continually learning from recent accidents," he said.

"We will work to earn and re-earn people's trust."

Boeing's fast-selling 737 MAX was grounded worldwide in March after 157 people died in an Ethiopian Airlines crash just five months after a similar crash on a Lion Air flight that killed all 189 passengers and crew.

Ethiopian Airlines plane crash

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In his address, the Boeing chief said a "chain of events" caused the two recent crashes as he refused to admit whether the plane's MCAS (Maneouvering Characteristics Augmentation System) was flawed.

"It is not correct to attribute that to any item," he said. "We know that there are some improvements we can make to MCAS and we will make those improvements."

Mr Muilenberg added:"The reason that this industry is safe is that we never stop on making safety improvements. We never claim that we have reached the end point.

"We are continously, across all of our airplane programmes, improving safety every day. We always look for opportunities to improve.

"That culture that's unafraid to go make safety improvements over time, that culture is what has driven this to be an incredible safe industry."

The conference came as new questions arise about the aerospace giant's handling of the crisis.

Southwest Airlines has said it was not told that a safety feature on the Max was turned off until after the first crash.

Meanwhile, American Airlines pilots have said Boeing's proposed pilot training for new automation on the Max is not good enough.

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