WASHINGTON, April 2 (Reuters) – Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said on Wednesday (Apr 2) that the planemaker is focused on improving safety and not pressuring workers to speed up production after a 2024 mid-air 737 MAX 9 emergency.
“I’m not pressuring the team to go fast. I’m pressuring the team to do it right,” Ortberg said at a US Senate Commerce Committee hearing, adding that he was hopeful the company could resume producing 38 Boeing 737 MAX planes per month later this year and then surpass that, but was not committing to a date.
“I suspect it will be sometime this year,” Ortberg said. He said airlines are frustrated by delivery delays but support the approach. “They know we’ve got to do this right.”
Lawmakers have been scrutinizing the company since a January 2024 mid-air emergency involving a new MAX 9 that was missing four key bolts raised fresh questions about Boeing’s quality and safety culture, as well as regulatory oversight.
“We’ve made drastic changes to our internal process to ensure that this will never happen again,” Ortberg said.
After the incident, the Federal Aviation Administration imposed a production cap of 38 planes per month on the 737 MAX. Boeing is still awaiting FAA approval of two new versions of the MAX.
“Insufficient oversight of third-party suppliers and a lack of sufficient internal auditing procedures created an unsustainable, lack of safety culture at Boeing,” said Senate Commerce Committee chair Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas.
Ortberg told senators Boeing made “serious missteps” in recent years but has since made “sweeping changes.”
