Boeing CEO promises “complete transparency” after 737 Max 9s are grounded

Boeing’s CEO Dave Calhoun has stated that the accident on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 “can never happen again,” accepting a “mistake” had been made.

Speaking at a town hall staff meeting in Renton, Washington, Calhoun said the company is working directly with the National Transportation Safety Board and impacted airlines to ensure customers are confident the planes are safe.

“We’re going to approach this, No. 1, acknowledging our mistake. We’re going to approach it with 100% and complete transparency every step of the way,” he told a town hall staff meeting at the factory that makes 737 planes in Renton, Washington. Boeing was going to work with the NTSB “to find out what the root cause is,” Calhoun said.

READ: United Airlines finds loose bolts on multiple 737 Max 9 aircraft

“I got kids, I got grandkids and so do you. This stuff matters. Everything matters, every detail. I know I’m preaching to the choir here, this isn’t a lecture, not by any stretch. It’s nothing more than a reminder of the seriousness with which we have to approach our work,” he added.

Pledging to “get to a conclusion,” Calhoun was clear that the aircraft manufacturer is determined to identify the “root cause” of the problem that caused a panel on the fuselage of the Boeing aircraft to fall off mid-flight.

The statement comes after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded 171 Boeing 737 Max 9s to allow for inspections of all the aircraft before they return to service.

READ: FAA grounds 171 Boeing 737 Max 9s

With inspections still underway, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced in a news conference that the panel on the Alaska Airlines flight had fractured guides and missing bolts. However, they aren’t sure yet if the bolts were lost during the incident.

“Moments like this shake them to the bone, just like they shake me to my bones. They have confidence in all of us, they do, but we’re going to have to demonstrate by our actions, our willingness to work directly and transparently with them, and to make sure they understand that every airplane that Boeing has its name on that’s in the sky is, in fact, safe,” Calhoun highlighted.

“We will see our way through to that but we need to know we’re starting from a very anxious moment for our customers,” he stated.