A person walks past an unpainted Boeing 737-8 MAX parked at Renton Municipal Airport, next to the Boeing factory in Renton, Washington, on Jan. 25, 2024.
Jason Redmond | AFP | fake images
boeing is replacing the head of its 737 Max program less than two months after a panel exploded on one of the plane models during a Alaska Airlines flight, prompting a brief federal suspension of the plane type and increased scrutiny of the plane manufacturer's operations.
The head of the company's 737 program, Ed Clark, will leave the company, Stan Deal, CEO of Boeing's commercial aircraft unit, said in a memo to employees. Katie Ringgold will become president and CEO of the program and the company's Renton, Washington site, Deal said.
“I am announcing several leadership changes as we continue to drive BCA's enhanced focus on ensuring that every aircraft we deliver meets or exceeds all quality and safety requirements. Our customers demand and deserve nothing less,” Deal said.
Boeing named Elizabeth Lund to a newly created position of senior vice president of quality for the commercial aircraft unit, Deal said in the note. Lund will continue to inform him, she added. Leadership changes are effective immediately.
“Ed leaves with me and our deepest gratitude for his significant contributions during nearly 18 years of dedicated service to Boeing,” Deal said.
The Jan. 5 crash aboard the Alaska Airlines flight is the latest crisis for Boeing which has been trying to find its footing after fatal crashes of its Boeing 737 Max 8 in 2018 and 2019 that killed all 346 people on board. of the flights.
It is also the latest and most serious in a series of quality failures in Boeing planes that have delayed deliveries to customers. A month after the Alaska Airlines flight, Boeing said that poorly drilled holes in some Max planes would delay delivery of the planes to airlines.
CEOs, including those at Alaska and United, have publicly expressed frustration with Boeing as they wait for new planes to capitalize on the post-pandemic travel boom.
The door plug that exploded on the nearly new 737 Max 9 used on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 has already prompted increased scrutiny and restrictions from federal regulators.
Bolts on that panel, which covers an unused emergency exit, appeared not to have been reinstalled before it was delivered to Alaska Airlines last year, a preliminary investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board found.
The Federal Aviation Administration has said it has stepped up direct inspections of Boeing's Max production lines and said it would prohibit the manufacturer from increasing production until the agency is satisfied with its quality controls.
As Boeing struggles to correct flaws in its production line, its rival Airbus has increased both production and deliveries of new aircraft.
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