Photo: Boeing CEO Calhoun attended a hearing on the 18th, with the families of the victims of the plane crash protesting behind him. \AFP

Calhoun, CEO of Boeing, attended the first hearing of the U.S. Senate on the safety of Boeing loudspeakers on the 18th and was bombarded by federal senators. Behind him, many family members of the victims of the Boeing air crashes in 2018 and 2019 held up signs to protest. Since the beginning of this year, Boeing aircraft safety accidents have continued. The U.S. Department of Justice has determined that it has violated the deferred prosecution agreement reached in 2021 and is considering whether to promote criminal prosecution. The families of the victims sent a letter to the Department of Justice on the 19th, demanding a fine of nearly $25 billion on Boeing and criminal prosecution of the Boeing executives involved.

In October 2018 and March 2019, Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashed in Indonesia, killing a total of 346 people. Both crashed Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. On the 19th of this month, the families of the victims appointed lawyer Cassel to write a letter to the US Department of Justice. The letter stated that the Boeing air crash was the deadliest corporate crime in US history, and Boeing should be fined US$24.78 billion (approximately HK$193.3 billion); if Boeing invests these funds in an independent corporate oversight agency and related compliance and safety improvement plans, the fine of US$14 billion to US$22 billion may be suspended.

The victims’ families also said the Justice Department should immediately bring criminal charges against Boeing executives responsible for the crash. According to the Wall Street Journal, the families pointed the finger at former Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg. A lawyer representing the victims’ families told prosecutor Lyon, who is in charge of the Boeing case, that Dennis Muilenburg defended the safety of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 after the Lion Air crash and before the Ethiopian Air crash, misleading investors. Belt, who lost her daughter in the Ethiopian Air crash, warned the U.S. government that if Boeing is not criminally prosecuted, a third fatal crash will occur, and “you will be held accountable for it.”

Another “whistleblower” exposed safety hazards

After the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes, the U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation into Boeing and filed related criminal charges in January 2021. The two sides later reached a deferred prosecution agreement. Boeing agreed to pay more than $2.5 billion in fines and compensation, and promised to fully cooperate with the requirements of the U.S. government to implement compliance and improvement plans. The deferred prosecution agreement expired on January 7 this year. However, on January 5, a Boeing passenger plane of Alaska Airlines in the United States had a door plug fall off after takeoff, triggering a new criminal investigation. Since then, Boeing aircraft accidents have continued. On May 14, the Department of Justice sent a letter to the Texas Federal Court stating that Boeing had violated the deferred prosecution agreement and would inform the court whether to sue before July 7.

On the 18th, Calhoun attended a Senate hearing on Boeing safety issues. He apologized to the families of the victims of the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes at the scene, admitted that the door plug detachment accident at the beginning of the year was caused by Boeing’s “manufacturing defects”, and admitted that Boeing did retaliate against “whistleblowers”. He said: “Our (safety) culture is far from perfect, but we are taking measures and making progress.”

Blumenthal, chairman of the Senate Permanent Investigations Subcommittee, mentioned that Boeing has recently encountered new safety issues. People familiar with the matter revealed that hundreds of fasteners in the fuselage of some undelivered Boeing 787 “Dreamliners” were incorrectly screwed. Mohawk, a quality inspector at Boeing’s Renton, Washington factory, pointed out at the hearing that Boeing “systematically ignored” parts that may have safety hazards or were not recorded in accordance with regulations, and even asked employees to hide unqualified parts before the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspection.

Pentagon still has contract with Boeing

US media said that the Department of Justice faces a difficult decision on whether to sue Boeing. Boeing’s defense and space divisions mainly serve the US government and earlier this month used the Starliner spacecraft to send two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station. If Boeing is convicted, it may be suspended or banned from serving as a defense contractor.

According to Fox News, despite widespread concern about Boeing’s safety issues, the US military still signed a new contract with it. The Pentagon announced on the 18th that Boeing has won a $212 million contract to provide maintenance services for US military fighter jets. According to the contract, Boeing will be responsible for repairing the flight control systems of 11 US Navy aircraft, and the relevant work is expected to be completed by December 2028.

(The Wall Street Journal/Reuters/Fox News)