Boeing CEO apologizes, but won’t step down after 737 MAX controversy
May 30, 2019, 11:45 AM
A Boeing 737 MAX. (AP)
(AP)
Boeing’s Dennis Muilenburg has publicly apologized for a second time after the tragic crashes of two of the company’s 737 MAX jets. He also says that he will not step down.
Muilenburg sat down with CBS Anchor Norah O’Donnell for an exclusive interview Wednesday evening. It was his first major interview since the 737 MAX controversy
“I do personally apologize to the families,” he told O’Donnell. “We feel terrible about these accidents and we apologize for what happened. We are sorry for the loss of lives in both accidents.”
“It’s important that I continue to lead the company,” Muilenburg said. “The fact that lives depend on the work we do, whether it’s people flying on our commercial airplanes or military men and women around the world who use our defense products, that is a worthy mission.”
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The 737 MAX jet controversy stems from two plane crashes — Lion Air Flight 610 out of Jakarta in 2018, and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in 2019. Both planes crashed due to a problem with the airplane software Boeing designed — called MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System). The computers forced the 737 MAX jets to nosedive and crash.
The jets are manufactured in Renton, Wash.
“We know that there was inaccurate sensor data that came into the airplane, there appears to have been a maintenance issue with that sensor,” Muilenburg said. “We know that the MCAS software was activated multiple times during that flight. In the end, that added to the pilot workload.”
Muilenburg also said that the company “fell short” and did not implement the new MCAS software properly. He is still confident in the fundamental safety of the airplane and he would put his own family on the 737 MAX “without any hesitation.”
Boeing CEO apologizes for 737 MAX crashes
“We can’t change what happened in these accidents, but we can be absolutely resolute in what we are going to do on safety going forward,” he said.
“Of my 34 years at Boeing, this has had the biggest impact on me, in anything that has happened,” Muilenburg said.
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