‘I know it happens’: Boeing chief admits the company has retaliated against whistleblowers | CNN Business (2024)

Sen. Richard Blumenthal on Tuesday gave a hint about how many Boeing whistleblowers there are. “We have more than a dozen whistleblowers by this point, and we encourage more to come forward,” the senator said early in the hearing.

And a memo by committee staff on Boeing – clocking in at more than 200 pages with attachments – mentions the range of people who have stepped forward, as well.

“Since opening the inquiry, the Subcommittee has received outreach from additional whistleblowers in the aviation industry, including individuals with firsthand knowledge of Boeing’s operations and policies, who have come forward with new information about additional safety risks stemming from Boeing’s manufacturing practices,” the memo reads.

“Some whistleblowers who have come forward to the Subcommittee wish to remain anonymous, but others have either spoken out publicly or are willing to have their stories be public for the first time.”

FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker testifies before a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on June 13.

Boeing isn’t alone in feeling lawmakers’ ire over their aircraft.

Last week, Federal Aviation Administration chief Mike Whitaker said his agency was also responsible for Boeing’s safety problems, admitting before the Senate Commerce Committee that the FAA had been “too hands off” in its oversight of the troubled aircraft manufacturer.

Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington state, questioned the backgrounds of some of the FAA’s safety inspectors.

“I’m definitely hearing ‘We don’t have enough aviation inspectors.’ And ‘We don’t even have enough qualified instructors at schools,’” she said at the hearing. “One story I heard was that they said, ‘Yes, I have safety experience. But it’s in the dairy industry.’ We need an aviation inspector on the floor who has aviation experience, not just safety experience.”

Read the whole story here.

The hearing in Washington today had some poignant and spicy moments.

For all the mistakes and safety problems Boeing has managed under CEO Dave Calhoun’s watch — resulting in a dozen corporate whistleblowers, multiple groundings and a chunk of a plane’s fuselage literally blowing off in midair — virtually no one has held him to account.

Certainly not Boeing’s board of directors, which has responded by lavishing him with a salary and stock options worth more than $20 million a year, plus a $45 million golden parachute when he retires later this year.

The hearing in Washington may not have fully satisfied family members of victims who have died in Boeing airplanes or other people affected by the companies misfires in 2024. But the hearing showed flashes of accountability and hard questions.

Tuesday marked the first time ever that Calhoun has had to testify before lawmakers. He faced an intense grilling, fieldingone biting question after the nextfrom both Republican and Democratic senators.

Clariss Moore of Toronto, Canada, holds a photograph of her daughter Danielle Moore and stands with other family members of those killed in the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 and Lion Air Flight 610 as Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun he departs following the Senate hearing today.

As Boeing CEO David Calhoun stood to leave the hearing room, families once again held pictures of loved ones who died in a 737 Max crash.

“How could you?” yelled Clariss Moore — mother of Danielle Moore, a traveler who died in a crash in Ethiopia in 2019 — as Calhoun exited the room.

In an interview with CNN, Moore said that she was not satisfied with Calhoun’s apology and called for criminal prosecution against him and other Boeing executives.

Several other family members who attended the hearing, gathered outside the Senate hearing room and expressed a similar sentiment. Many called for criminal prosecution, saying that the executives have not been held accountable.

They also expressed outrage at Calhoun’s salary — $32.8 million per year — with Moore saying to CNN “is that the cost of my daughter’s life?”

The families were also dismayed at Calhoun’s inability to answer several Senators’ questions during the hearing. Calhoun promised to follow up with the committee with these answers.

A Boeing 737 MAX 8 is pictured outside the factory on March 11, 2019 in Renton, Washington.

Despite the attention Tuesday’s hearing about Boeing’s safety problems will garner, it’s not clear whether it will produce significant change at the company, said Richard Aboulafia, managing partner for AeroDynamic Consultancy, an aerospace advisory firm.

Calhoun announced plans toretire before the end of this year. Hissuccessorhas yet to be selected. Calhoun said he has a preferred candidate but he has not publicly identified that person and said the decision is up to the search committee and Boeing’s board.

Aboulafia said the board has shown little indication of seeing a need to change the way things are done at Boeing, calling it a “board on autopilot.” The board approved a $32.8 million pay package for Calhoun in 2023, a 45% increase from the $22.6 million he received for 2022. And it could have been a lot more: He declined to accept his annual incentive bonus of $2.8 million – a request the board said he madeafter the Alaska Air incident.

At the end of the hearing Tuesday Calhoun pointed out that there have been changes among Boeing top mangers since the two fatal crashes and the grounding of the Max in 2019 and 2020, as well as additional management changes since the Alaska Air incident.

He defended using internal candidates from Boeing to fill the open positions.

“We try to select people who know a lot about airplanes,” he said.

But Senator Richard Blumenthal, the chairman of the subcommittee, argued that Boeing needed to turn to outsiders to make a true change in the culture at the company.

Blumenthal said Boeing’s practice appears to be to shift the blame from the top down.

“In effect, scapegoat workers rather than the management team responsible ultimately for conducting the company,” Blumenthal said.

Blumenthal said Boeing blamed an employee a few weeks ago, when the employee brought up concerns about falsified records and tests during the assembly of a 787 in South Carolina.

“I think that you have certainly demonstrated that you can talk about these changes, but making the changes may well require a different team,” he said.

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun was unable to answer Senator Richard Blumenthal’s questions on more than one occasion during his Senate testimony.

When asked about the settlement that Boeing paid, including a $243 million criminal penalty, after two deadly crashes involving its 737 Max aircraft more than five years ago, Calhoun stumbled, saying he didn’t know the precise dollar amount.

“You must know the precise number. You’re the CEO of the company,” Blumenthal said.

Calhoun also said he didn’t have a “precise number” when asked how much of Boeing’s total settlement amount was covered by insurance. He also said he didn’t “have an answer” to whether Boeing had taken tax deductions on the settlement amount to reduce its impact on the company.

“You don’t have an answer to that, as the CEO of the company? I find that hard to believe,” Blumenthal said.

Earlier in the hearing, Blumenthal asked Calhoun how many Boeing employees had been fired for “retaliating against whistleblowers,” which Calhoun had said was against Boeing company policy.

“Senator, I don’t have that number on the tip of my tongue,” Calhoun said. “But I know it happens.”

“I am happy to follow up and get you that number,” he added.

Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) questions Boeing's CEO DaveCalhounduring a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Investigations Subcommittee hearing on the safety culture at Boeing, on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 18.

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley accused Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun of trying to blame the company’s problems on the employees, when it’s actually the management’s fault.

Hawley said Boeing’s machinists and engineers are probably the best in the world.

“You’re the problem,” he said to Calhoun. “And I just hope to God you don’t destroy this company before it can be saved.”

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun testifies before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Investigations today in Washington.

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun has already announced plans to retire by the end of this year. But for Senator Josh Hawley, that’s not soon enough.

In a brutal back and forth during Tuesday’s hearing on Boeing’s broken safety culture, the Missouri Republican questioned Calhoun about how much money he was paid. Calhoun declined to answer directly, responding only “It’s a big number.”

Hawley cited the $32.8 million in salary that was reported by Boeing for his pay in 2023, which was a 45% increase over the previous year.

After Calhoun conceded the company had not seen a profit in his four years as CEO and that its stock price was down over that period, Hawley cited the salary and pay raise again and said, “If anyone has come out of this deal good, it’s you,”

“Why haven’t you resigned?” Hawley followed up.

“Senator, I’m sticking this through. I’m proud of having taken the job. I’m proud of this safety record, and I’m proud of our Boeing people,” Calhoun replied.

“You’re proud of this safety record?” Hawley asked incredulously.

“I’m proud of every action we have taken,” Calhoun replied.

“Every action you’ve taken?” Hawley asked again.

“Yes, sir,” Calhoun said.

“Wow. There’s some news for you,” Hawley concluded.

US Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) speaks as Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun testifies during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Investigations Subcommittee hearing to examine "Boeing's broken safety culture" on Capitol Hill today.

Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley highlighted Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun’s salary — $32.8 million this year, which is a 45% increase over last year — and asked what Calhoun gets “paid to do exactly.”

“I get paid to run the Boeing company,” Calhoun answered.

Hawley asked if transparency and safety are part of that job description, and Calhoun said yes.

Later in the exchange, Hawley challenged Calhoun even more.

So far, Republican and Democratic senators both have delivered sharp criticism on Boeing’s safety, transparency and quality.

While CEO Dave Calhoun has apologized to the family members of Boeing 737 Max victims and acknowledged people and culture issues internal to the company, senators are raising concerns about the response from the company so far and indicating a lack of trust in management to do the right thing.

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun appears before a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Investigations Subcommittee hearing on Boeing's broken safety culture on Capitol Hill on June 18, 2024 in Washington, DC.

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun acknowledged that the company has retaliated against whistleblowers.

“I know it happens,” he said.

When Sen. Richard Blumenthal asked if Boeing fired any of its employees who retaliated against whistleblowers, Calhoun said he didn’t have the numbers, but emphasized that he knows that the retaliation has happened.

In his opening remarks, CEO Dave Calhoun said Boeing is listening to safety concerns raised by whistleblowers at the company. A few minutes later, he admitted he wasn’t the one listening.

Under questioning by subcomittee ranking member Ron Johnson of Wisconsin about whether or not he had spoken to any of the whistleblowers, Calhoun replied: “I have not directly spoken to any families of whistleblowers.”

“Do you think that would be a good idea?” Johnson asked.

“Yeah,” Calhoun responded.

“I’d recommend it,” Johnson added.

Subcommittee chairman Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said his staff has spoken to more than two dozen Boeing whistleblowers who have raised a variety of issues, including the use of parts that do not comply with company specifications, and actions to hide those parts from regulators.

Blumenthal said those who have spoken up have told of retaliation and pressure to shut up about their complaints.

He said that one whistleblower, John Barnett, who police ruled died by suicide earlier this year, had testified that a supervisor had called him about 20 times a day, and when Barnett questioned the calls, he was told by the supervisor “I’m going to push you until you break.”

“He broke,” Blumenthal said.

Under questioning, Calhoun told Blumenthal that Boeing had disciplined and even fired supervisors who had retaliated against whistleblowers. But he said he couldn’t give an exact number.

Boeing's CEO Dave Calhoun faces families and apologizes for the loss of their loved ones upon his arrival to testify before a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Investigations Subcommittee hearing on the safety culture atBoeing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, today.

Before his opening remarks, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun stood from the witness table, turned around to face family members of Boeing 737 Max victims and apologized.

One attendee responded, “you should be in jail.”

Calhoun returned to the witness table and began delivering his opening statement.

US Senator and Chairman Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, with Senator Ron Johnson (R), Republican of Wisconsin, speaks as Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun testifies during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Investigations Subcommittee hearing to examine "Boeing's broken safety culture" on Capitol Hill today.

Boeing’s latest leadership changes look like “management musical chairs,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who chairs the subcommittee.

While the Justice Department investigation is underway, Blumenthal said it is an important moment for Boeing, regardless of the investigation’s results.

“The Department of Justice will conclude this investigation to make its independent decision about whether to prosecute. But for Boeing, regardless of that decision, it is a moment of reckoning and an opportunity to change a broken safety culture,” he said in his opening remarks.

Relatives of Boeing airplane crash victims demonstrate as Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun (R) arrives to testify during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Investigations Subcommittee hearing to examine "Boeing's broken safety culture" on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, today.

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun walked into an unfriendly room in the Hart Senate Office building Tuesday.

In the rows behind him were critics of Boeing from multiple angles: family members of Boeing 737 Max victims holding photos of their loved ones, and demonstrators wearing keffiyehs and red paint on their hands.

“Stop sending weapons to Israel,” one person called out.

“Make safe planes for commercial flight,” exclaimed another.

Calhoun walked to the dais at the front of the room and shook hands with Chairman Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat. He then took a seat in at the witness table alongside Boeing’s chief engineer.

Family members of the crash victims of the Boeing 737 MAX8 in Ethiopia, hold photographs during a news conference on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, June 18, 2024, in Washington.

The Senate hearing with Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun started with Senator Richard Blumenthal, the subcommittee chairman, recognizing family members of the two fatal crashes.

Those family members included families of four of the 346 who died in two crashes, one in October 2018 in Indonesia, and one in 2019, in Ethiopia. They all stood and held photos of their late family members.

In addition there were two family members of John Barnett, a Boeing whistleblower who died earlier this year from what police have ruled to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Blumenthal said Barnett’s death came “under the immense pressure the company put on him.”

“To all of you, thank you for having the strength and courage to be with us. We are deeply sorry for your losses,” said Blumenthal. He said it was important to start the hearing by recognizing those who had died.

“The issues before us today have real human consequences. Life and death results. Not just abstract numbers,” said Blumenthal. “This hearing is a moment of reckoning. It’s about a company, once an iconic company known for engineering excellence and product prowess, that somehow lost its way.”

Calhoun started his opening remarks with an apology to the family members of the people who died in the two 737 Max crashes, as well as the passengers and crew who were on the January 5 Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max flight that had a door plug blow out, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the plane.

“I apologize to the grief we have caused,” he said, as he turned around to face the family members who were present. “I want you to know we are totally committed to work focused on safety. … I’m sorry.”

Families of victims walked into the hearing room with photos of their family members. They are in the third row, according to CNN team members present in the room. Behind them in the fourth row are several pro-Palestinian protesters with fake blood on their hands.

As Boeing chief Dave Calhoun walked into the room ahead of his Senate testimony, protesters said, “shame.”

Other people were heard saying, “how do you sleep at night?” and “focus on making safe planes at home.”

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun walks past after speaking with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on January 24, 2024, before meeting with a group of senators.

Ahead of the Senate hearing, outgoing Boeing chief Dave Calhoun said he is “here to take responsibility.”

He walked away without answering any reporters’ questions.

Calhoun is scheduled to appear before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations today at 2 p.m. ET.

Watch:

Video Ad Feedback

a28dfd38-53f5-4164-9e6d-982ba11985ac.mp4

00:39 - Source: cnn

John Barnett, a former Boeing quality manager, at his home in Goose Creek, S.C., on April 6, 2019.

John Barnett was a Boeing employee for more than 30 years, including seven as a quality manager in Charleston, South Carolina, where the 787 is assembled. He died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in March, according to police in Charleston. But before his death he had raised numerous questions about the quality and safety of planes at the factory, bringing a suit against Boeing charging that he faced illegal retaliation for raising those safety concerns.

One of the problems that Barnett cited, according to the Senate investigators’ report released Tuesday, was the question about how Boeing accounted for the parts that did not meet company specifications.

In a deposition in his lawsuit cited in the Senate report, Barnett said that managers at Boeing “directed him to falsify records that would resolve the disposition of lost nonconforming parts in the company’s Quality Management System where parts are tracked. When Mr. Barnett refused, insisting that the parts either had to be found, or their missing status reported to the FAA, he allegedly was told, ‘Absolutely not. We are not reporting anything to the FAA.’”

After the New York Times first reported some of Barnett’s allegations in the spring of 2019, Boeing released a statement sent to the plant’s employees in which Brad Zaback, a site leader at the plant and general manager of the 787 program, said the Times’ report “paints a skewed and inaccurate picture of the program and of our team (at the plant).”

Zaback said that “quality is the bedrock of who we are,” adding that the plant delivers “the highest quality airplanes.”

The question about the use and tracking of nonconforming parts is likely to get a lot of attention at Tuesday’s hearing.

Barnett’s friends and family have told reporters that they still don’t believe he committed suicide. In March after his death Boeing issued a statement saying “Our thoughts are with his family and friends.”

An aircraft approaches to land at Miami International Airport in January 2023.

It’s not just whistleblowers raising questions about the quality of parts on Boeing planes. A major supplier of Boeing, Spirit AeroSystems, has notified Boeing and its rival Airbus that it used titanium on some parts that had counterfeit paperwork attesting that it used high-strength metal required under aircraft specifications.

Spirit AeroSystems said it is also investigating the counterfeit documents that allowed the questionable titanium to enter the supply chain.

The Federal Aviation Administration is confirming that it is investigating the parts and whether any parts put in use on the planes poses a safety hazard.

It is unclear how many planes have parts made with the questionable material, according to a report in The New York Times, which first reported the problem. It said among the planes with the parts were the Boeing 737 Max and 787 Dreamliner and the Airbus 220.

Calhoun’s prepared remarks begin with an apology to the family members of the victims of twofatal 737 Max crashes. Some of those family members plan to attend the hearing. In the 2018 and 2019 crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, 346 people were killed. That led to a20-month grounding of the jetto fix adesign flawthat caused the crashes.

He also plans to again apologize to the passengers and crew of the Alaska Airlines flight in January.

But experts say that it wassheer luck that no one was killedin the Alaska Airlines incident.

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun departs from a meeting at the office of Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) on Capitol Hill January 24 in Washington, DC.

Not surprisingly for a hearing entitled “Boeing’s broken safety culture,” the hearing Tuesday will include harsh criticism of the company and its CEO, Dave Calhoun, who is testifying before Congress for the first time in his more than four years running the troubled company.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, the Connecticut Democrat who chairs the committee, released his planned opening remarks chock full of criticism of Boeing and Calhoun specifically.

He’ll accuse Calhoun of putting profits ahead of airplane safety, of leading a company where those raising safety concerns regularly faced retaliation, despite the claims otherwise from management.

Blumenthal said he and others had hoped that Calhoun would change the culture and practices at Boeing for the better when he took over as CEO in January 2020, 10 months into a 20-month grounding of the 737 Max that followed two fatal crashes.

A mourner arrives to pay her respects at the crash site of Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302 on March 14, 2019 in Ejere, Ethiopia. All 157 passengers and crew perished after the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 Flight came down six minutes after taking off from Bole Airport.

Beyond Tuesday’s hearing, and the numerous federal investigations it faces, the company could still face criminal liability from the original certification process of the 737 Max.

In January 2021, Boeing agreed to a probationary period,which deferred any prosecution on allegations that it misled the Federal Aviation Administration when it was seeking the certification of the Max. Those allegations surfaced after investigations of two fatal crashes of the plane in October 2018 and March 2019, which killed a total of 346 people and led to a 20-month grounding of the jet. During that grounding Boeing conceded that a design flaw that was uncovered during the investigations had caused the crashes.

But the January 5 incident aboard the Alaska Air flight happened just days before the end of the probationary period. In May, the Justice Department notified Boeing that it was nowsubject to criminal prosecution. Boeing has denied the Alaska Air incident violated the deferred prosecution agreement and is challenging any potential criminal liability in court.

The family members who attended Tuesday’s hearing say they want to see Boeing prosecuted criminally. Senator Richard Blumenthal told CNN Tuesday said those family members “feel that justice has not been served. And that feeling is pretty understandable.”

Blumenthal said he will reserve judgment on whether Boeing is guilty of criminal misconduct but that “prosecution is important to sending a message, a deterrent message, and insisting on accountability.”

Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut and chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, during a hearing in Washington, DC, April 17. US lawmakers challenged Boeing Co. to expend the necessary time and effort to reset its safety culture and criticized the planemaker's relationship with regulators as too cozy.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, a harsh critic of Boeing who is chair of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations holding Tuesday’s hearing, said it is important that Boeing fix its safety problems because it’s important that the company again become a success.

Blumenthal is correct that Boeing is a major part of the American economy. It is the nation’s largest exporter. It reports it had about 147,000 US employees at the end of 2023, up more than 11,000 from a year earlier. It estimates it is responsible for 1.6 million direct and indirect US jobs when counting employment at its 9,900 suppliers in all 50 states. It also estimates its impact on the US economy at $79 billion annually.

But more importantly than just the impact of building and selling planes, it plays a central role in the American airline industry, which would not be able to get by without Boeing, one of only two manufacturers of full-size commercial jets. The problems that Boeing has faced this year have created a domino effect of denying airlines the planes they had been counting on. That will likely mean fuller planes and higher fares for airline passengers around the globe.

The hearing Tuesday by the Senate’s permanent subcommittee on investigations is entitled “Boeing’s broken safety culture.” It is one of several that has heard testimony about safety issues at Boeing. Other hearings have included whistleblowers, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy and Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Mike Whitaker.

But it is the first time that CEO Dave Calhoun is testifying in his more than four years running the troubled company. He will be joined by Howard McKenzie, Boeing’s chief engineer.

And it could be Calhoun’s last time testifying. A couple of months after the Alaska Airlines incident on January 5, Calhoun announced plans toretire before the end of this year. Hissuccessorhas yet to be selected.

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun speaks to reporters as he departs from a meeting at the office of Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) on Capitol Hill on January 24. Calhoun was meeting with Senators after Boeing was forced to ground the 737 Max 9 aircraft fleet after an accident earlier that month.

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun plans to apologize for Boeing’s recent safety failures in Senate testimony Tuesday and admit to problems with the company culture, but he’ll push back on whistleblower claims that the company retaliated against those who brought safety issues to light.

But he insisted that the company has a policy that it wants to hear from employees who have concerns about the safety of the planes it is building and that it does not endorse retaliation against those who complain, despite testimony from whistleblowers who claim otherwise.

The “far from perfect” remark is a massive understatement. Boeing has been under intense scrutiny with numerous federal investigations and congressional hearings since a January 5Alaska Air Boeing 737 Max flighthad a door plug blow off, leaving a gaping hole in both the plane and Boeing’s reputation.

An aerial photo shows Boeing737MAXairplanes parked on the tarmac at the Boeing Factory inRenton, Washington, on March 21, 2019.

A current Boeing employee claims the company tried to shield broken or out-of-specification 737 Max plane parts from regulators and lost track of them, according to a Senate subcommittee investigation made public Tuesday.

Boeing tried to hide the nonconforming parts from Federal Aviation Administration regulators by moving them out of sight and falsifying records, claims Sam Mohawk, the new whistleblower who works for a Boeing quality assurance unit in Renton, Washington. Boeing was unable to account for many of the parts that it moved around to skirt regulators, and they probably ended up getting installed in some planes, Mohawk said.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, the Connecticut Democrat chairing Tuesday’s hearing, called the report from Mohawk “chilling.” He said Mohawk is one of more than a dozen Boeing whistleblowers his committee’s investigators have spoken to leading up to the hearing.

Boeing said it received the report from Congressional investigators Monday evening.

Video Ad Feedback

19549c45-fb4a-4033-b55c-169e1f51500d.mp4

01:35 - Source: cnn

Boeing engineer Sam Salehpour arrives for a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee on investigations hearing on April 17.

As Boeing’s failures came to light in recent month, whistleblowers like Sam Salehpour also found themselves in the spotlight.

Salehpour was a Boeing engineer who said he was threatened for bringing safety concerns to his managers over several years. He said at a Senate hearing in April that he was testifying due to his belief that “they are putting out defective airplanes.”

At the hearing, Salehpour said that Boeing used “unmeasured and unlimited” amount of force – including people jumping on pieces of the airplane – to correct misalignment between sections of jets, and that the gap ended up being much more than the 5/1000th of an inch allowed by Boeing’s own standards.

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun speaks to reporters as he departs from a meeting at the office of Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) on Capitol Hill January 24, in Washington, DC. Calhoun was meeting with Senators on Capitol Hill after Boeing was forced to ground the 737 Max 9 aircraft fleet after an accident earlier that month.

Back in March, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said he would step down by the end of the year, a move related to Boeing’s recent turbulence. His departure, therefore, is a factor in the hearing today. Calhoun will be aiming to protect his reputation and show he and Boeing have handled their recent problems as best they can.

Meanwhile, the incoming CEO of Boeing will have his or her hands full in restoring the company’s reputation, operations and sales. The company is likely reviewing several inside and outside candidates right now for that position.

They also will have to assemble a new leadership team. CNN’s Chris Isidore reported on Calhoun and other executives moving through the revolving door at Boeing in recent months.

Boeing 737 MAX airplanes are pictured outside a Boeing factory on March 25 in Renton, Washington. A mid-air door plug blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight and subsequent grounding of flights precipitated a management shakeup at Boeing.

Today’s hearing at the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations follows a Senate Commerce Committee meeting last week, when Federal Aviation Administration chief Mike Whitaker said his agency is partly responsible for the safety problems at Boeing, admitting that it had been “too hands off” in its oversight of the troubled aircraft manufacturer.

In testimony Thursday before the committee, Whitaker said his agency now had far more inspectors on the ground at Boeing factories and the factory of its primary supplier, Spirit AeroSystems.

Whitaker said the FAA will continue to push Boeing to improve its safety culture in the wake of the January 5 incident in which adoor plug blew off during an Alaska Airlines flight, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the Boeing 737 Max.