Boeing was the subject of dual Senate hearings April 17, as Congress examined allegations of major safety failures at the aircraft manufacturer.
According to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, the Senate Commerce Committee heard from members of a panel that claimed there are serious flaws in Boeing’s safety culture. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said the public wants the Federal Aviation Administration and lawmakers to ensure that boarding one of the company’s planes has not become more dangerous.
“Flying commercial remains the safest way to travel, but understandably, recent incidents have left the flying public worried. The perception is things are getting worse,” Cruz said.
Disconnect Between Safety and Practice
One of the witnesses, MIT aeronautics lecturer Javier de Luis, lost his sister when a Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed in Ethiopia in 2019. De Luis said there was a disconnect between Boeing management’s words about safety and what workers observe on the factory floor.
“They hear, ‘Safety is our No. 1 priority,'” he said. “What they see is that’s only true as long as your production milestones are met, and at that point it’s ‘Push it out the door as fast as you can.'”
In talking to Boeing workers, de Luis said he heard “there was a very real fear of payback and retribution if you held your ground.”
A second Senate hearing Wednesday featured a Boeing engineer who testified that the assembly process for 787 Dreamliners leaves sections of an aircraft’s skin vulnerable to breaking apart.
Campaign Donations from Boeing
Committee chair, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), has said she will stop accepting campaign donations this year from Boeing executives because of the Senate inquiry, Politico.com’s Playbook said April 14.
“Given the increased scrutiny of Boeing’s activities by the Senate Commerce Committee, the 2024 Cantwell campaign is not taking contributions from Boeing leadership,” the campaign said in a statement.
As part of her new policy, Cantwell returned a donation of $500 in December from Elizabeth Lund, who was promoted in February to SVP of quality for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. From 2019 to 2024, Boeing employees gave Cantwell $20,000, according to OpenSecrets.org. Cantwell does not take money from Boeing’s PAC, in line with her long-standing policy of not taking corporate PAC money.