737 MAX case: Boeing CEO is scheduled to testify before the US Senate panel on June 18

Senator Richard Blumenthal, chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, said Calhoun would testify on a range of issues.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in February banned Boeing from increasing production of the 737 MAX after a door panel exploded during a Jan. 5 flight on an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9.

Blumenthal said after two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people: “Boeing has committed to reviewing its safety practices and culture. That promise proved empty, and the American people deserve an explanation.” Calhoun has said he will leave by the end of the year as part of a broader management shake-up as Boeing faces multiple government investigations and pressure from investors and airlines to find a new CEO.

The longtime Boeing board member and General Electric veteran took the helm of the company in 2020 following the ouster of his scandal-tinged predecessor.

Candidates for the top job at Boeing include Pat Shanahan, CEO of Spirit AeroSystems, and Stephanie Pope, president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, according to industry sources.

Boeing said it welcomed the opportunity for Calhoun to discuss his actions to strengthen safety and quality during his Senate testimony.

At an April hearing before the Blumenthal Commission, a Boeing engineer testified that the company took dangerous production cuts on certain planes and sidelined him when he raised safety concerns, the company claims.

Blumenthal said Calhoun’s testimony was a necessary step to meaningfully address Boeing’s failures, regain public trust and restore its central role in the U.S. economy and national defense.

Howard McKenzie, Boeing’s chief engineer, will accompany Calhoun but will not testify, the committee said.

Late Wednesday, the Senate Commerce Committee said FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker would testify before the panel on June 13 about the agency’s oversight of Boeing and other aircraft manufacturers.

Whitaker gave Boeing 90 days in late February to develop a comprehensive plan to address “systemic quality control issues.”

The U.S. Justice Department said last month that Boeing had breached its obligations in a 2021 agreement that shielded the planemaker from criminal charges over the fatal 737 MAX crashes. Boeing is also facing a criminal investigation into the Alaska Airlines incident.

Boeing has said it believes it has complied with the terms of the deferred prosecution agreement.

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