Boeing argues for continued role certifying new planes

Dennis Muilenburg faced tough questions about his company's role in certifying the 737 MAX. The Boeing Co.'s CEO was testifying before a Senate committee — the first of two appearances this week.

Muilenburg had already answered questions for hours when Senator Jon Tester of Montana suggested Boeing should no longer have any role in the certification of planes.

But Muilenburg said Boeing is as focused on safety as federal regulators.

Muilenburg: “That is our number one priority.”

Tester: “Okay, cool, but we failed in this case, and there's a whole bunch of people back there would are going through incredible anguish because we failed."

Tester was referring to people gathered at the hearing who had lost relatives. 346 people died in two plane crashes, the first of them one year ago today.

A panel reviewing the grounding of the MAX does want changes to how planes are certified. Boeing has planes it wants approved quickly: the MAX, the latest version of the 777, and possibly a brand-new aircraft.

This is a transcript of a story that aired on KUOW.