Boeing CEO Defends 737 MAX Design
Addressing shareholders in Chicago Monday, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg spoke to reporters about the 737 MAXs troubled MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System). The MCAS system as originally designed met our design and safety analysis criteria, he said.

Image: Boeing
Addressing shareholders in Chicago Monday, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg spoke to reporters about the 737 MAX's troubled MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System). "The MCAS system as originally designed met our design and safety analysis criteria," he said.
When asked if the MCAS was the cause of both Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines accidents, Muilenburg sidestepped a direct answer, saying, "There were multiple contributing factors, there are factors we can control. And in this case that common link in the MCAS and its activation. We're going to break that link and prevent accidents like this from happening again." The accidents were the result of a "chain of events," he said, "there is no singular item, it's a chain of events."
"It's not correct to attribute [the accidents] to any single item," he said. "We know there are some improvements we can make to the MCAS and we will make those improvements. But the reason this industry is safe is that we never stop on making safety improvements. We never claim we have reached the end point. We are continuously, across all of our airplane programs, improving safety every day. We always look for opportunities to improve."
As part of his update to the press, Muilenburg said that nearly all of the 50 airlines that fly the 737 MAX have "experienced the software updates themselves" in simulators. Total test flying so far is up to 246 hours over 146 flights, according to Boeing. As reported earlier, Boeing hopes to have the airliner back in the air in July.
While admitting that Boeing has been speaking to the airlines economically impacted by the grounding of the MAX, he said, "The first focus here is safely getting the Max up and flying. And then we'll address the follow-on issues."
Muilenburg himself has faced challenges in the wake of the two fatal accidents and subsequent grounding. Shareholders had attempted an ouster of the CEO, but less than half of the investors voted for his removal. Boeing's income was down to $2.8 billion from $3.1 billion in the first quarter of 2018 largely on the downturn of deliveries of 737 aircraft.
