Boeing CEO fights back tears while admitting error after mid-air blowout

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun recalled watching the images of the damaged aircraft and emphasised the importance of families and why their safety was of utmost importance while flying from one place to another. (Representational Image).

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun fought back tears while addressing the other organisation employees  on Tuesday, admitting the airline's mistake and assuring everyone that the process towards identifying what led to the accident would be completely transparent.

“We’re going to approach this -No. 1 - acknowledging our mistake. We’re going to approach it with 100% and complete transparency every step of the way," Calhoun said in his address to Boeing employees at the company's 737 factory in Seattle.

Calhoun recalled watching the images of the damaged aircraft and emphasised the importance of families and why their safety was of utmost importance while flying from one place to another. "I’ve got kids, I’ve got grandkids and so do you. This stuff matters. Every detail matters," Calhoun said.

The statements were Boeing's first public acknowledgment of error since the incident on Friday left the 737 MAX 9 plane with a gaping hole.

Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, the two U.S. carriers that use the temporarily grounded planes, have found loose parts on similar aircraft, raising fears such an incident could have happened again.

Calhoun also told Boeing employees the company will "ensure every next airplane that moves into the sky is in fact safe." He applauded the Alaska Airlines crew that swiftly moved to land the 737 MAX 9 plane with only minor injuries to the 171 passengers and six crew.

Boeing has suffered numerous production issues since the full-blown grounding of the 737 MAX family in March 2019 that lasted 20 months, following a pair of crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed nearly 350 people.

(With inputs from Reuters).