The Boeing boss on Wednesday acknowledged the “seriousness” of the incident that occurred in early January on an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 plane, in which a jammed door came loose during the flight, leading to the seizure of the plane led on the ground. All devices of this model.
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“We don't put any planes in the air that we don't have 100 percent confidence in,” Dave Calhoun told reporters before a meeting with senators in Washington.
“I am here today in the spirit of transparency, first of all to recognize the seriousness of the events,” he continued, and also “to share everything I can with the parliamentarians and answer all their questions, because they “many” have done.
On January 5, a cabin door on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 flying from Portland, Oregon to Ontario, California came off during the flight.
Airlines have the option to block a door if the number of existing emergency exits is sufficient in relation to the number of seats on the aircraft.
This modification was made to 171 of the 218 Boeing 737 MAX 9s delivered to date.
The American Civil Aviation Regulatory Authority (FAA) has banned aircraft configured in this way from flying until further notice.
This week, operators of Boeing 737-900ERs, an older model, were also advised to check the cap holder fasteners present on 380 of the 539 units delivered.
The regulator has opened a quality control investigation into Boeing, which in recent months has reported several production problems on the 737 family, its flagship model: connections on the fuselage, problem on the rear bulkhead, risk of a “loose screw” on the rudder control system.
The group last week appointed an independent consultant, reporting to Dave Calhoun, to review its quality control process.
And on Thursday, the company will hold the first of a series of training days at its Renton, Wash., plant, with workshops focused on the quality of the workforce at its production sites.
Latest incident reported by the FAA: A tire on the front axle of a 757 operated by the American company Delta came off on Saturday morning as it prepared to take off from Atlanta, Georgia to Bogota, Colombia.
A Boeing spokeswoman noted that the 757 has not been produced since 2004 and referred Delta for further details.
The company did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment.
According to the website airfleets.net, the affected aircraft has been in service for 32 years.