30 October
The CEO of Boeing faced a grilling in Washington over what the firm knew about flight software linked to two deadly crashes. Dennis Muilenburg testified before a Senate panel about his company's response to the accidents involving its 737 Max 8 jet.
Muilenburg reiterated the company's absolute commitment to safety, learning and rebuilding the public's confidence. He said Boeing will prevent accidents like this from ever happening again.
He said he recognized that a malfunctioning stall-prevention system has been tied to the crashes. One occurred in October last year and the other in March this year. The accidents killed 346 people.
Lawmakers quizzed Muilenburg over messages from 2016 by a senior Boeing engineer who reported erratic software behavior in a simulator.
Boeing turned over the messages to the Justice Department earlier this year. But it did not tell the Federal Aviation Administration or Congress about them until this month.
Muilenburg said he learned about the messages at the beginning of the year but did not know their content in detail.
The hearing was held exactly one year after the crash in Indonesia. Family members who lost loved ones in the accident attended holding photos of the victims.
nhk
