Boeing CEO Admits Error In 737 MAX 8 Crashes: ‘Should Have Communicated Better’

Boeing admitted that it regrets the lag in transparency that hurt its brand and damaged business in the aftermath of the Boeing 737 Max serial crashes and grounded the 737 Max fleet.

This new introspection was revealed in the statement of Boeing CEO.

Speaking to reporters, CEO Dennis Muilenburg said more transparency was warranted in dealing with regulators and the public as soon as the company detected a safety light has been malfunctioning.

Boeing spokesman Gordon Johndroe said: “We fell short in the implementation of the AOA disagree alert and should have communicated better with regulators and the airlines.”

Muilenburg’s comments came ahead of the Paris Air Show that begins on June 17 and will run until June 23.

Issue of MCAS software

In both the crashes, the common factor has been the struggle faced by pilots in managing software known as MCAS that pushed down the noses of the planes fatally.

Boeing has promised that it is working on a software update that would enable pilots to gain absolute control of the aircraft.

Boeing's 737 MAX planes have been grounded worldwide ever since the March 10 tragedy with the Ethiopian Airlines flight.

The Boeing CEO conceded that engineers understood way back in 2017 that the alert was not working properly, and was “disappointed” that the company failed to make the information public.

At the Paris Air Show, Boeing is planning to hold a briefing for its suppliers and customers about the latest updates on software for 737 Max.

Boeing is trying to recover from the loss of business that followed the twin crashes in a span of 6 months killing 346 people.

The latest crash in March involved a flight of Ethiopian Airlines from Nairobi. In October 2018, the Boeing aircraft owned by Indonesia’s Lion Air crashed and plunged into the sea.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) spokesman Lynn Lunsford updated that his office is working with Boeing in the software fix. But he clarified that no date has been set for the certification of flights.

Boeing’s loss to be the gain of Airbus

The crashes and grounding of the high demand plane have cast a shadow on Boeing's prospects at the event. This is likely to benefit rival Airbus.

“The company's presence and activities at the show will demonstrate its commitment to innovation, industry partnerships and safety,” Boeing announced.

While Boeing’s current efforts are focused on restoring trust it is unlikely to announce new launches or data on new orders of the plane.

Earlier, the Paris Air Show was expected to hear the announcement of Boeing’s highly anticipated new-gen aircraft.

“If I were Boeing I would not want to launch an aircraft into that kind of environment,” said Samuel Engel, an aviation consultant with ICF.

Airbus has already hinted that it may announce the launch the Airbus A321XLR — the extended-range version of its new narrowbody A321LR plane at the air show.

This single-aisle aircraft with its longer range will dispense the expense of operating a wide-body plane. Airbus would be aiming to gain a walkover with more orders before Boeing comes up with its own twin-aisle plane.

Meanwhile, there is news that Boeing will acquire one of its existing suppliers, California-based EnCore. The latter is into making airplane seats and galleys.

Boeing stock was down 0.5 percent on Friday.