Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing’s chief executive officer has apologised in a letter made public on the company's website for the tragedies, caused by crashes of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft in Indonesia and Ethiopia .
Muilenburg wrote "We at Boeing are sorry for the lives lost in the recent 737 MAX accidents," and went on to say that he could not remember a more heart-wrenching time in his career with Boeing.
This letter comes on the heels of preliminary reports from investigators in Indonesia and Ethiopia that implicated the Boeing-approved flight system, MCAS, which had activated in the two flights' final minutes, with pilots struggling to keep the plane level as it pitched downward.
Muilenburg recognised the role of MCAS, and states the company has taken a comprehensive, and disciplined approach to updating the software.