Boeing CEO breaks silence on Alaska Airlines mid-air terror as 170 flights grounded after plane window ripped out
BOEING'S CEO has called for an urgent meeting after more than 170 flights were grounded following a terrifying mid-air incident.
David Calhoun sent out an email to all Boeing employees on Sunday after a bizarre event saw a plane door ripped out mid-air.
Calhoun invited them to join a safety meeting following the events that took place on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282.
The meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 9 at the company's factory in Renton, Washington.
"When it comes to the safety of our products and services, every decision and every action matters," Calhoun said in the email shared directly with The U.S. Sun.
He stated that when serious accidents, like that one on Friday, occur, "it is critical for us to work transparently with our customers and regulators to understand and address the causes of the event, and to ensure they don’t happen again."
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"I am deeply grateful to our colleagues who have been working tirelessly on our company’s response over the past two days," he continued.
The meeting will focus on the company's response to the accident, along with Boeing's commitment to "safety, quality, integrity, and transparency."
Calhoun says the company has been working hard to strengthen their quality control systems and safety management, but incidents such as Flight 1282 is a reminder to continue improving.
Along with the safety meeting, Calhoun has canceled a leadership summit for all company vice presidents.
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The summit was originally scheduled for Monday and Tuesday of this week.
The CEO decided to cancel the summit to focus on the investigation of Flight 1282 and to provide support to passengers who were on the Alaska Airlines flight.
“In light of the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 in-flight event, we are canceling the Summit to focus on our support to Alaska Airlines and the ongoing National Transportation Safety Board investigation, and any of our airline customers experiencing impact to their fleets," Calhoun said in a message to all Boeing VP's.
The U.S. Sun previously reported that the Federal Aviation Administration has ordered the grounding of approximately 171 Boeing 737 MAX 9 airplanes worldwide.
The FAA said some of the planes require immediate inspections before they can continue to fly.
The required inspections are set to take anywhere between four to eight hours per airplane.
Flight 1282 left Portland, Oregon for Ontario, California at 4:40pm on January 5.
Not even an hour into the flight, the trip ensued with chaos as a section of the plane was ripped out.
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It was reported that due to the pressure being so strong, phones were ripped from passengers' hands and a young boy had to be held down by his mother.