Boeing’s 737 Max legal battles continue as CEO prepares to testify this week in Washington

Boeing will be busy this week, as the company’s CE gears up to testify before a Senate committee and as Boeing attorneys work through civil and criminal cases related to the 737 Max. CEO Kelly Ortberg is scheduled to be the lone witness testifying on 2 April during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transformation. Titled “Safety First: Restoring Boeing’s Status as a Great American Manufacturer”, Ortberg is to discuss and answer questions about actions Boeing has taken to “address production deficiencies and safety issues identified after the Alaska Airlines flight 1282 incident last year”, the committee says. Boeing has been under intense regulatory scrutiny following that incident, which involved the in-flight failure of an Alaska Airlines’ 737 Max 9’s mid-cabin door plug. Investigators traced the incident to failure by Boeing staff to install four bolts intended to secure the plug. The pilots landed the jet safely and without serious injuries to passengers or crew, but the event made clear Boeing had not adequately addressed quality and safety problems at its Renton manufacturing site. The hearing comes as Boeing’s legal struggles continue. Last week, judge Reed O’Connor with US District Court for the Northern District of Texas set a 23 June start date for Boeing’s criminal trial on charges that it defrauded the Federal Aviation Administration during the 737 Max’s certification.<br/>