Boeing CEO ‘fought back tears’ addressing employees after Alaska Air incident

Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun became emotional during an all-hands-on-deck meeting with staff this week after a plug door on a Boeing 737 Max 9 blew out during an Alaska Airlines flight.

Calhoun fought back tears as he addressed the incident with employees at the 737 factory in Renton, Washington, on Tuesday.

“We’re going to approach this, number one, acknowledging our mistake,” Calhoun said in the address. “We’re going to approach it with 100% and complete transparency every step of the way.”

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Calhoun said that when he saw an image of what occurred on that flight the Friday before, “all I could think about – I didn’t know what happened, to whoever was supposed to be in the seat next [to] that hole in the airplane.” He added, “I’ve got kids, I’ve got grandkids and so do you. This stuff matters. Every detail matters.”

The company’s latest incident occurred when a plug door panel, which covers an extra emergency exit that is only operable on planes with the maximum capacity, blew out during an Alaska Airlines flight that was at 16,000 feet and climbing to cruising altitude after departing Portland, Oregon, for Ontario, California.

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The loss of the plug caused the cabin to depressurize, and the plane returned safely to Portland with no serious injuries reported. The Max 9 involved in the incident had been restricted from long flights over water, such as to Hawaii, after Alaska reported pressurization alerts on prior flights.

Alaska Airlines and United Airlines are the only two U.S. carriers that use the 737 Max 9, and both companies grounded their fleets so inspections could be completed while the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board investigate what caused the incident.

On Thursday, seven passengers that were aboard the Alaska Airlines flight sued Boeing for “personal and economic harms” from the incident.

FOX Business’ Greg Wehner and Eric Revell contributed to this report.