Boeing CEO faces Senate hearing on plane maker’s recovery

Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg will testify in front of a Senate committee on Wednesday on the progress the plane maker has made on improving its manufacturing and safety standards after years of crises in both its commercial and defense units, including a 2024 near-catastrophic midair door plug blowout from one of its planes that left Boeing’s factory without key bolts installed.

“Boeing has made serious missteps in recent years — and it is unacceptable. In response, we have made sweeping changes to the people, processes, and overall structure of our company,” Ortberg said in written testimony, which was seen by CNBC ahead of the hearing. “While there is still work ahead of us, these profound changes are underpinned by the deep commitment from all of us to the safety of our products and services.”

Ortberg and other Boeing executives have outlined improvements across the manufacturer’s production lines in recent months, as well as wins like a contract worth more than $20 billion to build the United States’ next generation fighter jet. But lawmakers and regulators have maintained heightened scrutiny on the company, a top U.S. exporter.

“Boeing has been a great American manufacturer and all of us should want to see it thrive,” Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican and chairman of the committee, said in a statement in February announcing the hearing. “Given Boeing’s past missteps and problems, the flying public deserves to hear what changes are being made to rehabilitate the company’s tarnished reputation.”

The Federal Aviation Administration last year capped Boeing’s production of its 737 Max planes at 38 a month following the January 2024 door plug blowout. The agency plans to keep that limit in place, though Boeing is producing below that level.

Acting FAA Secretary Chris Rocheleau said at a Senate hearing last week that the agency’s oversight of the company “extends to ongoing monitoring of Boeing’s manufacturing practices, maintenance procedures, and software updates.”