The New York Times reports that Boeing made a major announcement on Monday morning, paving a path forward for the embattled aircraft manufacturer. After a terrifying mid-air door plug blowout on an Alaskan Airlines flight sent stocks plummeting and exposed a litany of quality-control issues, Boeing is reshuffling its top brass.
The company’s CEO, Dave Calhoun, will vacate his position at the end of this year. Boeing’s chairman, Larry Kellner, will also be leaving the board of directors in May; and Stan Deal, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the division in charge of creating planes for commercial travelers, has resigned effective immediately. Stephanie Pope, formerly Boeing’s chief operating officer, has replaced Deal.
The upheaval comes on the heels of a January 5 incident in which the door plug of a Boeing Max 9 blew off during an Alaska Airlines flight. It led to a flurry of bad press for Boeing and reignited serious safety issues the company had tried to put to bed after crashes in 2018 and 2019 caused mass fatalities.
A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) audit of Boeing found many more glaring safety issues, including a viral incident in which a wing part wing on a Boeing jet appeared to disintegrate in mid-air. The company was given 90 days to remedy these issues. Last month, in another blow to the airline, it was announced that the head of its 737 Max program would be stepping down.
In a Monday letter to employees announcing the transitions, Calhoun called the Jan. 5 episode “a watershed moment for Boeing.”
“The eyes of the world are on us,” he continued, “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.”
Calhoun’s successor has yet to be named.
Boeing’s upheaval in leadership has already positively impacted its stock. Since the beginning of 2024, Boeing stock has plummeted some 25 percent; but after the announcements on Monday morning, it rose by 2.8 percent.
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