Boeing said today that it has established a new Aerospace Safety Committee — to be chaired by retired Adm. Edmund Giambastiani Jr. — that will be responsible for safety oversight in the design, development, manufacture and delivery of Boeing aerospace products and services.
In separate action, the Boeing Board of Directors amended the company’s governance principles to include safety-related experience as a factor in the selection of future members of the board.
Both actions followed a five-month-long independent review of airplane design and development policies in the aftermath of two crashes involving Boeing 737 MAX airplanes — the October 2018 crash of Lion Air Flight 610 and the March 2019 crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. Together, the two crashes killed all 346 people in both airplanes.
The review also resulted in a number of recommendations, including creation of a product and services safety organization to review all aspects of product safety, realignment of Boeing’s engineering function, reexamination of flight deck design and operation, and establishment of a design requirements program. The recommendations are being reviewed by senior company officials.
“The independent committee review was extensive, rigorous and focused on delivering specific recommendations to ensure the highest levels of safety in Boeing airplanes and aerospace products and services and for all who fly on Boeing airplanes,” Giambastiani said. “The committee and the board believe these recommendations, along with actions already taken by the board, will strengthen engineering at the company, bolster the safety policies and procedures for the design, development and production of Boeing products and services, and further improve board and management oversight and accountability for safety not only at Boeing but throughout the global aerospace industry.”
