Boeing boss grilled by US lawmakers and victims

Boeing’s chief executive Dave Calhoun faced a grilling from US senators about the company’s culture as he apologised to family members of plane crash victims, who shouted at him throughout the hearing.

Mr Calhoun testified on Tuesday to Congress that the company had “learned” from past mistakes and that the process for employee whistleblowers “works” – but lawmakers still accused him of not doing enough to rectify a culture of retaliation.

The US company most recently was put in the spotlight when a door panel fell off a new 737 Max plane during an Alaska Airlines flight in January, leaving a gaping hole.

As part of an ongoing investigation, Boeing whistleblowers told the Senate in April that the 737 Max, the 787 Dreamliner and the 777 models had serious production issues.

Mr Calhoun, who became CEO in 2020 and plans to leave later this year, told the Senate sub-committee that some problems come from an “untrained workforce”.

He blamed the layoffs and worker turnover that plagued the industry after Covid, saying they contributed to manufacturing issues at the company.

“So much of this is related to an untrained workforce. It’s all about that, honestly,” he said.

The company faced intense criticism five years ago, after two 737 Max aircraft were lost in separate, but almost identical accidents, killing 346 people.