Boeing faces quality control questions as its CEO appears on Capitol Hill

Washington — Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun was on Capitol Hill Wednesday trying to reassure key senators that the company's planes are safe, after an incident earlier this month in which the door panel of a 737 Max 9 blew off during an Alaska Airlines flight over Portland, Oregon.  

"We fly safe planes," Calhoun told reporters Wednesday. "We don't put airplanes in the air that we don't have 100% confidence in.  I'm here today in the spirit of transparency."

The Federal Aviation Administration had grounded all 171 Boeing 737 Max 9s indefinitely since the incident. On Wednesday evening, the FAA announced that it had approved a "thorough inspection and maintenance process that must be performed on each of the grounded" aircraft.