New Delhi

US senators criticised Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun on Tuesday (June 18) for the company's disappointing safety record, overshadowing his apologies to families who lost loved ones in two 737 MAX crashes and accepting responsibility for a January mid-air incident.

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Calhoun was questioned repeatedly by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations regarding his remuneration, Boeing's safety culture, and the timing of his planned retirement at the end of the year. "I am proud of every action we have taken," Calhoun said under pointed questioning from Republican Senator Josh Hawley, who demanded to know why Calhoun had not quit immediately and accused him of "strip-mining" Boeing while receiving a multimillion-dollar salary package.

Calhoun's total remuneration in 2023 rose to $32.8 million, up 45 per cent from $22.6 million in 2022.

Calhoun's first appearance before Congress focused on Boeing's deteriorating safety record and impending retirement amid a management shakeup. Senator Richard Blumenthal, who chairs the subcommittee, termed the hearing a "moment of reckoning" for Boeing, claiming there was sufficient evidence that the US Justice Department should prosecute the firm.

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"As a former federal prosecutor and state attorney general, I think that the evidence is near-overwhelming to justify that prosecution," Blumenthal stated.

Prosecutors have until July 7 to notify a federal judge in Texas about their plans. In May, the Justice Department determined that Boeing had failed to "design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics program" as part of a deferred prosecution deal following the tragic crashes. Calhoun accepted responsibility for the mishaps that have thrown Boeing into crisis over the last five years, admitting that a manufacturing flaw caused a January 5 Alaska Airlines door plug problem.

Boeing also admitted responsibility for creating a critical software system linked to the 2018 and 2019 crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, which killed 346 people in total.

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"I am here in the spirit of transparency and to take responsibility," Calhoun told reporters as he entered the hearing room. At the start of the hearing, he addressed the relatives of the crash victims and stated, "I apologise for the grief that we have caused," adding that the business was "totally committed" to addressing safety problems and calling the families' losses "gut-wrenching."

Howard McKenzie, Boeing's top engineer, downplayed safety concerns regarding hundreds of mistakenly tightened fasteners on some of the company's 787 jets, revealing that the fasteners were torqued from the incorrect side but claiming that Boeing's initial investigation found them safe.

Last Monday, Boeing informed the US Justice Department that it had not broken a deferred prosecution agreement that protected the firm from criminal charges related to the incidents. "Boeing needs to stop thinking about the next earnings call and start thinking about the next generation," Blumenthal stated.

A new whistleblower has come forward in response to a prior whistleblower's testimony in April. Senator Blumenthal stated that Sam Mohawk, a current Boeing quality assurance inspector at the 737 facilities in Renton, Washington, recently testified about a pervasive disdain for potentially defective or unauthorised parts. In June, Mohawk filed a related claim with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Boeing responded that it is evaluating these concerns, underlining its commitment to ensuring aviation safety and encouraging employee reporting. Since 2019, the company has expanded its quality staff and greatly increased the number of inspections of each aircraft.

Since a door plug on a 737 MAX 9 blew out in mid-air on January 5, authorities and airlines have increased their scrutiny of Boeing. The National Transportation Safety Board discovered four crucial bolts missing from the Alaska Airlines plane, forcing the Justice Department to launch a criminal inquiry into the tragedy.

Boeing submitted a quality improvement plan to the FAA on May 30, following 90 days to resolve systemic quality-control deficiencies. The firm has been forbidden from increasing MAX manufacturing until these issues are remedied.

Boeing's stock closed 1.9 per cent down at $174.99 on Tuesday (June 18).

(With inputs from Agencies)