Boeing CEO and string of top executives resign amid ongoing safety scandals

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun and two top executives have announced that they will step down from their positions at the company following a string of incidents that have sparked major safety concerns.

In a memo posted to the company’s website on Monday, Mr Calhoun said the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 incident – where a plane door blew out mid-flight – was a “watershed moment” for Boeing and so he had decided to leave the company at the end of the year as it looks to commit to more safety and quality assurances.

“We must continue to respond to this accident with humility and complete transparency. We also must inculcate a total commitment to safety and quality at every level of our company,” Mr Calhoun wrote.

Reflecting on his time at the helm of the company as “the greatest privilege” of his life, Mr Calhoun said the company was going to fix what is no longer working to help rebuild its reputation for safety.

In addition to Mr Calhoun’s departure, Chairman Larry Kellner and CEO and President of Boeing Commercial Airplanes Stan Deal will also step down.

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun speaks to reporters as he departs from a meeting at the office of Sen. Mark Warner

(Getty Images)

The news comes after a string of high-profile accidents have sowed public distrust in Boeing aircrafts, specifically the 737 Max.

In January, a door panel blew out on a 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight over Portland, Oregon. Photos and videos from the incident went viral and led to public panic. Ultimately the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) opened investigations which led to the grounding of all Boeing 737 Max 9s.

Preliminary investigations found several critical bolts were missing from the door panel before takeoff, calling into question Boeing’s manufacturing practices and production lines.

But Boeing’s problems did not start or end with the Alaska Airlines incident.

The company has been embroiled in previous safety concerns with the 737 Max 8 after two flights crashed and killed all passengers aboard in 2018 and 2019.

Though Boeing has taken responsibility for some of the safety concerns and begun implementing changes to assure the public they will remedy them, people have still expressed skepticism when flying on Boeing-manufactured planes.

Mr Calhoun’s decision to step down, alongside Mr Kellner and Mr Deal, seems to be motivated by the company’s desire to rebuild its reputation.

“The eyes of the world are on us, and I know we will come through this moment a better company, building on all the learnings we accumulated as we worked together to rebuild Boeing over the last number of years,” Mr Calhoun wrote.

Source link