United CEO Says Sorry Parts Keep Falling Off Our Planes Mid-Flight

As things continue to literally and metaphorically fall apart at Boeing, the CEO of United Airlines is trying to reassure — and retain — customers.

“Unfortunately, in the past few weeks, our airline has experienced a number of incidents that are reminders of the importance of safety,” United CEO Scott Kirby said in a Monday memo to customers, per airlines reporter David Slotnick. “While they are all unrelated, I want you to know that these incidents have our attention and have sharpened our focus.”

This message comes amid a spate of problems for both the airline and the company that manufactures many of its planes, which has led to investigations by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transporation Safety Board.

Though it wasn’t related specifically to United, the January debacle in which the door flew off a Boeing 737 during an Alaska Airlines flight seems to have kicked off a frenzy of reporting on similar episodes at various other carriers, with the Dreamliner manufacturer’s passenger jets at the center.

United hasn’t been spared since. In one incident this month, an external panel fell off one of its jets mid-flight. In another, a tire fell off, crushing several vehicles.

Notably, Kirby’s customer memo also comes a week after the shocking death of Boeing whistleblower John Barnett, who had traveled to South Carolina to give testimony against his former employer only to be found dead of an allegedly self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head in his hotel parking lot.

Under Review

With several safety incidents occurring on United flights in the past month alone, it appears now that the airline’s CEO is bent on portraying a veneer of calm concern, or at least that the company is doing something about all those malfunctioning planes.

“Our team is reviewing the details of each case to understand what happened,” Kirby wrote, “and using those insights to inform our safety training and procedures across all employee groups.”

Though he didn’t mention Barnett or whistleblowing by name, the United CEO said that he and the company “empower[s] our team to speak up and raise their hands if they see something wrong.”

“You can be confident that every time a United plane pulls away from the gate,” Kirby assured customers, “everyone on our team is working together to keep you safe on your trip.”

Still, the United CEO’s attempt at projecting security might be too little too late — especially as the tech world has responded with an app that literally helps people avoid flying on Boeing planes.