Tuesday 15 / October / 2024
Muscat: Boeing is humbled and learning from an Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed 157 people more than two weeks ago, the company's CEO Dennis Muilenburg recently said in a published statement.
"We are all humbled and learning from this experience. We’ve stood shoulder to shoulder in partnership with the Ethiopian team to grieve and extend our deepest sympathies to the families, friends and communities of the passengers and crew," said Muilenburg.
"Since the moment we learned of the recent 737 MAX accidents, we’ve thought about the lives lost and the impact it has on people around the globe and throughout the aerospace community. All those involved have had to deal with unimaginable pain. We’re humbled by their resilience and inspired by their courage," he added.
Ethiopian Airlines flight ET-302 crashed on 10 March, killing all on board. The aircraft took off at 8.38 am local time from the capital, Addis Ababa, and lost contact at 8.44 am. The flight had 149 passengers and eight crew members.
"We hold ourselves to the highest standards of safety, excellence and integrity in our work because the stakes could not be higher," Muilenburg said. "Boeing stands together with all our customers and partners to earn and strengthen the flying public's trust and confidence in us every day."
The letter was issued in response to a statement by Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde GebreMariam.
"It has been more than two weeks since the tragic crash of Ethiopian Airlines flight 302. The heartbreak for the families of the passengers and crew who perished will be lasting. This has forever changed their lives, and we at Ethiopian Airlines will feel the pain forever. I pray that we all continue to find strength in the weeks and months ahead," wrote GebreMariam.
Belief In Boeing
GebreMariam reiterated his company's confidence in Boeing, saying, "Let me be clear: Ethiopian Airlines believes in Boeing. They have been a partner of ours for many years. More than two-thirds of our fleet is Boeing. We were the first African airline to fly the 767, 757, 777-200LR, and we were the second nation in the world (after Japan) to take delivery of the 787 Dreamliner.
"Despite the tragedy, Boeing and Ethiopian Airlines will continue to be linked well into the future."
Boeing has been under intense scrutiny of U.S. federal regulators since a Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft crashed near the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. It was the second fatal disaster involving a 737 MAX aeroplane in more than five months after Indonesian Lion Air Flight 610 crashed and killed 189 people in October last year.
Many countries and airlines around the world have grounded 737 MAX aircraft after investigations found similarities between the two crashes.
GebreMariam confirmed that an investigation into the crash was ongoing.
He said that after the Lion Air accident in October, Ethiopian Airlines pilots who flew the 737-Max were fully trained on the service bulletin issued by Boeing and the Emergency Airworthiness Directive issued by the USA FAA.
"Contrary to some media reports, our pilots who fly the new model were trained on all appropriate simulators," he stated.
On the ongoing investigation, Boeing earlier posted on its website, "Boeing and other parties to the investigation are not authorised to release information from the accident investigation on their own. This international protocol helps ensure the integrity of the careful and well-established process used to determine the facts and reach conclusions."
"We will work with investigators in Ethiopia, in the U.S. and elsewhere to figure out what went wrong with flight 302," GebreMariam pledged. "We resolve to work with Boeing and others to use this tragedy to make the skies safer for the world."
Meanwhile, the 737-Max continues to face intense scrutiny.
In a recent incident, a Southwest Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing
A Boeing 737 MAX aircraft operated by Southwest Airlines with no passengers on board made an emergency landing in Orlando on Tuesday. The FAA stated that the jet made a safe emergency landing after experiencing an apparent engine problem.
