Boeing CEO testimony highlights interplay between profits and humanity

This week continued with the testimony of Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg in front of the House Transportation Committee on Capitol Hill, and he faced a much more strenuous line of questioning, in which he attempted to defend Boeing after those two fatal 737 Max crashes. At one point during the testimony, he told Congress that safety “is not our business model.”

For KIRO Radio’s Gee Scott, we may be reaching a point in which businesses must reconcile their priorities.

“We are coming to a time now where putting people and human decency before profit is becoming more important. No longer are the days where just the profit matters. If you are a CEO or a manager and your identity is behind profit before people, you will get sought out,” he said.

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Muilenburg began by apologizing to any families affected by the crashes, many of whom were in attendance at that meeting. The Lion Air crash out of Indonesia resulted in the death of 189 people and the Ethiopian Airlines crash led to 157 deaths. It’s believed to be linked to an automated system that pushed the nose of the plane downwards.

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The Boeing CEO was further scolded for potentially rushing the 737 Max jets onto the market, having a flawed plane certification process, and ultimately endangering the public.

“The argument here is that Boeing saw potential for an accident, saw the environment where an accident could happen, and didn’t do enough to steer away from that,” added co-host Aaron Mason.

Listen to KIRO Nights with Gee Scott and Aaron Mason weekdays from 7-10 p.m. on KIRO Radio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.