United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby speaking in Chicago on June 5, 2019.
Kamil Krzaczynski | Reuters
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby on Monday sought to reassure customers in regards to the carrier’s safety after a series of flight problems in recent weeks.
In a single incident this month, a tire fell from one in all the carrier’s Japan-bound Boeing 777s shortly after takeoff, damaging cars in a San Francisco airport parking zone. In one other, a missing panel from the plane was discovered after the older Boeing 737 landed in Oregon on Friday.
“Safety is our highest priority and is at the middle of every thing we do,” Kirby said in an email to customers. “Unfortunately, prior to now few weeks, our airline has experienced plenty of incidents which are reminders of the importance of safety.”
Kirby said the incidents, which the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating, were “all unrelated” but that the team is reviewing the small print “and using those insights to tell our safety training and procedures across all worker groups.”
The string of recent mishaps occurred during heightened scrutiny of the aviation industry after a door plug panel blew off an Alaska Airlines‘ nearly latest Boeing 737 Max 9 on Jan. 5.
A United Airlines plane.
Source: NBC Houston KPRC2+
On March 8, a United 737 Max plane rolled off a Houston runway. On March 4, a United Boeing 737 that was heading to Florida from Houston returned to the airport after the engine ingested plastic bubble wrap, with video on social media showing flames coming out of the engine.
United’s CEO said the airline had already planned to implement changes equivalent to “an additional day of in-person training for all pilots starting in May and a centralized training curriculum for our new-hire maintenance technicians.”
“You’ll be able to be confident that each time a United plane pulls away from the gate, everyone on our team is working together to maintain you protected in your trip,” Kirby wrote.
