Boeing's 77 Max 9 jets could be back in the
skies this weekend,
according to the United and Alaska Airlines.
The planes have been grounded since a door plug blew
out.
In midair on an Alaska Airlines flight earlier this month,
the plane was left with a hole in its fuselage
the size of a refrigerator,
but the pilot still managed to land safely.
Yesterday, the FAA cleared the way for the planes to
return to service if they passed a set of inspections.
Boeing CEO was on Capitol Hill earlier in the day,
but as Pete Montane reports,
he didn't get good news there.
More developments all the time on this story.
And now the chair of the US Senate committee that
overseas Aviation is now calling for hearings to investigate what
she calls safety lapses at Boeing.
Not likely that this was the outcome that Boeing CEO
Dave Calhoun was looking for.
This was his first trip to DC since the blowout
on Alaska Flight 1282.
And here is the statement from Senate Democrat Maria Cantwell.
She says, quote in today's meeting with Boeing CEO Dave
Calhoun.
I made it clear that quality engineering and a commitment
to safety always have to be the top priority.
Cantwell, also from Washington state,
where the 737 Max 9 is built.
So far it's been a very controlled message from Boeing,
and true to form, Calhoun answered few questions from reporters.
This is how he responded when asked if the public
should fear his airplanes.
We fly safe planes. We don't put airplanes in the
air that we don't have 100%
confidence in. I'm here today in the spirit of transparency
to #1 recognize the seriousness of what you just asked
#2 to share everything I can with our Capitol Hill
interests. And answer all their questions because they have a
lot of them.
On Thursday, Boeing will pause production for the entire day
at the 737 Max 9 factory.
They're calling it a safety stand down,
much like the US military does after a crash.
In this case, Boeing workers will break into smaller groups,
evaluate Boeing's processes on the production floor and make recommendations
on where things could be improved.
Pete Mundine, CNN, Washington.