"We're going to approach this number one acknowledging our mistake," Calhoun said in the meeting, a Boeing spokesperson confirmed to US media. "We're going to approach it with 100% and complete transparency every step of the way. We are going to work with the NTSB who is investigating the accident itself to find out what the cause is. We have a long experience with this group. They're as good as it gets."
In response Saturday, the Federal Aviation Administration temporarily grounded 171 Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft worldwide for safety inspections. The FAA said on Tuesday that "every Boeing 737-9 Max with a plug door will remain grounded until the FAA finds each can safely return to operation."
Calhoun said that Alaska Airlines' ability to quickly ground its fleet of Max 9s with door plugs "prevented, potentially, another accident."
"When I got that picture, all I could think about – I didn't know what happened, so whoever was supposed to be in the seat next to that hole in the airplane," Calhoun reportedly told Boeing employees.
"I've got kids, I've got grandkids and so do you. This stuff matters. Every detail matters."
Calhoun expressed "huge thanks and compliments" to the pilots and flight attendants aboard the Alaska Airlines flight who "got that airplane back on the ground at a very tumultuous moment, under very scary circumstances."
"They train their lives to do that, but you don't know till you know," Calhoun said. "I hope most never know. But this crew, they stood the test and delivered the airplane back home to us."
National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy told reporters over the weekend that "we are very, very fortunate" no one was seated in the two adjoining seats closest to the detached door plug, whose purpose was to cover an unused exit door.
Alaska Airlines said the 737 Max had just been delivered from Boeing on October 31. Homendy also disclosed that pilots had reported that the same aircraft experienced three pressurisation warnings, from cockpit dashboard lights, between December 7 and January 4. At least one occurred in-flight.
Both United Airlines and Alaska Airlines, which have cancelled hundreds of flights due to the grounded aircraft, reported on Monday that inspections of door plugs on grounded 737 Max 9s revealed "loose hardware" such as "bolts that needed additional tightening." United said it believes the loose hardware on its grounded planes is the result of an installation issue, which would be the manufacturer's responsibility.
Investigators are increasingly looking at four unaccounted-for bolts that should have kept the door panel from flying off during the flight. NTSB officials have said they are not yet sure if the bolts on Alaska Airlines Max 9 "ever existed."
Homendy called Friday's event "an accident, not an incident," and Calhoun said he trusts the NTSB will determine the cause.
"I trust every step they take, and they will get to a conclusion," Calhoun said on Tuesday. "...The FAA, who has to now deal with airline customers who want airplanes back in service safely and to ensure all the procedures are put into place, inspections, all the readiness actions that are required to ensure every next airplane that moves into the sky is in fact safe and that this event can never happen again."
The timeline for a return to service is unclear. The FAA’s Emergency Airworthiness Directive prohibits flight by US airlines or in US territory of all Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft that have a mid-cabin door plug installed until the affected aircraft pass inspection.
The FAA said on Tuesday that Boeing is revising its instructions to operators for inspections and maintenance of the affected 737 Max 9 aircraft.
“Upon receiving the revised version of instructions from Boeing, the FAA will conduct a thorough review,” the FAA said. “The safety of the flying public, not speed, will determine the timeline for returning the Boeing 737-9 Max to service.”
Aircraft likely will return to service plane by plane as they pass inspection.
Some international carriers operate models that are not affected by the issue that the FAA directive is addressing because they don’t have a mid-cabin door plug. Some other airlines, flying aircraft with the door plugs, have followed the FAA’s lead and grounded their planes.
Mexico’s Aeromexico and Copa Airlines in Panama are among the international carriers with the 737 Max 9s in the fleet. Aeromexico said in a statement that it grounded its Max-9s over the weekend in accordance with the FAA’s directive. Copa Airlines said in an updated statement on Sunday that operations of its 21 737 Max 9 aircraft have been suspended “until further notice, as authorities finalize inspection requirements for their return to service.” The airline is following the airworthiness directive issued by the FAA, the airline confirmed.
Turkish Airlines, which has five Max 9 aircraft in its 400-plus plane fleet, said that it will withdraw the aircraft from its fleet “until the technical investigation process is completed and the measures requested by the authorities are implemented.”
While the FAA does not have authority over the operation of aircraft operated by some international carriers, those airlines often follow the agency’s lead.
Multiple airline chiefs, including two of Boeing’s biggest customers — Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary and Emirates’ Tim Clark in Dubai — have spoken publicly of the need for Boeing to raise quality standards. Wizz Air’s Jozsef Varadi said the relationship between manufacturers and regulators had gotten too “cozy.”
“They’ve had quality control problems for a long time now, and this is just another manifestation of that,” Clark said in an interview this week in Dubai. “I think they’re getting their act together now, but this doesn’t help.”
Calhoun, 66, took over as CEO of Boeing at the start of 2020 after the board ousted then-CEO Dennis Muilenburg for mishandling the grounding crisis. He cancelled an annual offsite retreat for senior executives that was planned for this week in response to the Alaska incident.
