October 18, 2019

Chair DeFazio Blasts Boeing about Newly-Revealed Messages: This is not about one employee, this is about a failure of safety culture

Washington, DC – Today, Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) issued the following statement after the release of an instant message chain between two Boeing employees:

“Today we received documents from Boeing, which apparently they have had in their possession for several months, including the outrageous instant message chain between two Boeing employees indicating Boeing withheld damning information from the FAA. This exchange is shocking, but disturbingly consistent with what we’ve seen so far in our ongoing investigation of the 737 MAX, especially with regard to production pressures and a lack of candor with regulators and customers. This is no isolated incident, and underscores why it is so important that Members of Congress have a chance to question Boeing, in public. This is not about one employee; this is about a failure of a safety culture at Boeing in which undue pressure is placed on employees to meet deadlines and ensure profitability at the expense of safety. Boeing will have to answer for this and other questions at our hearing on October 30th.”

More information about the Committee’s investigation into the Boeing 737 MAX, including statements, official requests, and hearing video, can be found here.

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