— This is the script of CNBC's news report for China's CCTV on October 29, 2019, Tuesday.
According to early written testimony by Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg, he will admit to congress that Boeing made a mistake on the 737MAX, "We've made mistakes and we got some things wrong. We're improving and we're learning" he testified.
He is scheduled to attend the hearing in Senate and House of Representative on Tuesday and Wednesday. Oct 29, Tuesday, is also the first anniversary of the Indonesian lion airline crash. In the written testimony, Muilenburg also offers his deepest apologies to the victims' families on behalf of himself and all Boeing employees. Indonesian officials have released a final report that found design and certification flaws in the Boeing 737 MAX. Investigators said MCAS, the aircraft's self-stalling maneuvering feature enhancement system, did not take into account the possibility that the system could have caused the aircraft to lose control. In his testimony, Muilenburg said they were aware of both incidents involving the MCAS system, They have also heard from airlines and pilots that Boeing did not adequately communicate about MCAS. He said "I can assure you that we have learned from this and will continue learning."
This congressional hearing is the first time for Muilenburg to face the lawmakers publicly after 2 fatal crashed of Boeing 737MAX.
Before that, he resigned from Chairman, and Boeing also replaced the executive of Boeing commercial airplanes, which is a business unit of Boeing company, the revenue of this unit accounts for 60% of Boeing's revenue. John Hamilton, chief engineer for Boeing's commercial airplane division, will attend the hearing as well. Over the past weekend, Muilenburg has been preparing for the hearing.
Boeing is taking the opportunity to offer a sincere apology and understanding, but lawmakers are expected to respond with tough questions that includes the development of the crashed plane and whether the company's management was aware of or anxious to get the plane to market and put pressure on employees. Chairman of the house transportation and infrastructure committee is also an important role in the hearing.
Peter DeFazio told media on Monday that he believes its all because of the Wall Street that investors put pressure on Boeing, pushing it to develop and market its new aircraft faster. Members of congress have also pointed out that Boeing pilots raised questions about the MCAS system internally, but the company did not inform regulators, the issue will also be highlighted. Boeing 737MAX was grounded for seven months after two planes crashed in October and march, killing 346 people. The grounding has caused significant damage to airlines, with American and southwest saying they lost more than $1 billion. A pilots' union has filed a lawsuit against Boeing for compensation after the long grounding affected the pilots. Boeing's own business has been hit even more directly. Not surprisingly, Boeing is set to be overtaken this year by rival airbus as the world's biggest maker of commercial aircraft
Boeing is now hoping for an early go-around to turn things around by developing a software fix for the grounded 737MAX.
The company said it had conducted more than 814 test flights using the new software, but the FAA has not yet approved it. In his testimony, Muilenburg said "getting the plane in the air has taken longer than we originally expected, but we're committed to getting it right, and return-to-service timing is completely dependent on answering each and every question from the FAA."
Next, we will see how will Muilenburg testify in the hearing, we will keep close eyes on this issue.