Published 02:40 IST, October 31st 2019
Boeing CEO, Muilenburg, faces questions over two 737 MAX crashes
Boeing CEO, Dennis Muilenburg, was subject to a lot of questions from senators in a hearing on October 29 in relation to the two crashes of 737 Max planes
Boeing CEO, Dennis Muilenburg, was subject to a lot of questions from senators in a hearing on October 29, in relation to the two crashes of 737 Max planes alongside questions based on whether the aircraft manufacturer deliberately concealed information about MCAS system or not. According to reports, a few members of the committee stopped Dennis when they felt that he was not being able to give answers about the MCAS system that was questioned in both the plane crashes.
"Boeing deliberately concealed information"
Senator, Richard Blumenthal, stated that Boeing had successfully persuaded regulators to keep any explanation of the flight system from the Pilot Manuals and training. He further added that the manufacturer tried to put the blame on the pilots after the crashes of both the planes.
He further added that the pilots and passengers never had the chance to survive as they were flying in a coffin as Boeing decided to withhold the issue of the MCAS(Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System) from the pilots.
"Boeing put the pilots on the path of failure"
Senator, Tammy Duckworth, stated that the aeroplane manufacturer had put the pilots on a path of failure by not telling them about the way to respond to a nose-down command in the 737 MAX as it differed from the previous 737 models. He also said that Boeing had still not come forward with the entire truth to the committee and the families of the victims and is causing more suffering to them.
"Accident happened due to a series of events"
In response to this, Muilenburg refuted the claims that the company blamed the pilots for both the crashes. He also said that the accident had happened due to a series of events and not a single factor. In his defence, Muilenburg told the senators grilling him that Boeing had always trained its pilots to respond to the same effect caused by the failure of the MCAS, a condition called the runaway trim, which can also be caused by other issues.
Final stages
The Boeing CEO told the senators that the manufacturer was in its final stages of updating the software to improve the safety conditions by adding redundancy that will connect the MCAS software to a second sensor and computer at all times.
The hearing took place exactly one year after Lion Air Flight 360 crashed off the coast of Indonesia, claiming the lives of 189 people and 7 months after Ethiopian Airlines 302 crash claimed the lives of 157 people.
(With inputs from agencies)
Updated 02:41 IST, October 31st 2019