In a March 19 letter addressed to airlines, passengers and the aviation community, Boeing Company chairperson and CEO Dennis Muilenburg stressed the company’s commitment to ensuring safe and reliable travel on its airplanes.
“This overarching focus on safety spans and binds together our entire global aerospace industry and communities,” he stated.
The letter follows after the crash of two of its 737 MAX aircraft in recent months. In October 2018, Lion Air Flight 610 crashed off the coast of Indonesia, killing all passengers and crew.
Earlier this month, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, which was travelling from Ethiopia to Kenya, crashed minutes after take-off, again killing all on board the flight.
While investigations into the latest plane crash continue, questions have since been raised about the safety of the 737 MAX aircraft, and the entire fleet has been grounded across the world.
Muilenburg said the company was united with its airline customers, international regulators and government authorities in efforts to support the most recent investigation, understand the facts of what happened and help prevent future tragedies.
Based on facts from the Lion Air Flight 610 accident and emerging data as it becomes available from the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 accident, the company is taking actions to fully ensure the safety of the 737 MAX, he averred.
“We also understand and regret the challenges for our customers and the flying public caused by the fleet’s grounding.”
He indicated that work was progressing “thoroughly and rapidly” to learn more about the Ethiopian Airlines accident and understand the information from the airplane’s cockpit voice and flight data recorders.
A Boeing team is on site with investigators to support the investigation and provide technical expertise.
The Ethiopia Accident Investigation Bureau will determine when and how it is appropriate to release additional details.
Muilenburg emphasised, however, that the company would continue to providing “the best products, training and support to our global airline customers and pilots, pursuant to an ongoing and relentless commitment to make safe airplanes even safer”.
The company would soon release a software update and related pilot training for the 737 MAX that will address concerns discovered in the aftermath of the Lion Air Flight 610 accident, he informed.
Boeing has been working in full cooperation with the US Federal Aviation Administration, the US Department of Transportation and the National Transportation Safety Board on all issues relating to both the Lion Air and the Ethiopian Airlines accidents since the Lion Air accident occurred, he stated.