BOEING’S under-fire CEO has quit after the aviation giant was plunged into crisis over a series of dangerous jet failures.
David “Dave” Calhoun is set to be leaving at the end of the year, with other senior figures also resigning in the coming months.
ReutersDave Calhoun, CEO of Boeing, will be resigning at the end of the year[/caption]
A piece of the aircraft blew out of Alaska Airlines flight 1282 on January 5 not even an hour into the flight causing an emergency landing
ReutersDave Calhoun speaks with reporters ahead of meeting with US senators on Capitol Hill in Washington on January 24, 2024[/caption]
GettyBoeing has made headlines in recent months for having a number of serious issues with its planes[/caption]
The planemaker also said that Stan Deal, Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO, would retire and Stephanie Pope would lead the business, effective immediately.
Moving into his job is Stephanie Pope, who recently became Boeing’s Chief Operating Officer after previously running Boeing Global Services.
Larry Kellner, Chairman of the Board, is also quitting and will depart the board at Boeing’s annual meeting in May.
He has been replaced as chairman by Steve Mollenkopf, a Boeing director since 2020.
Boeing shares were up 2.2% in pre-market trading.
URGENT MEETING
In January, Calhoun called for an urgent meeting after more than 170 flights were grounded following a terrifying mid-air incident.
He sent out an email to all Boeing employees on Sunday after a bizarre event saw a plane door ripped out mid-air.
Calhoun invited them to join a safety meeting following the events that took place on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282.
The meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 9 at the company’s factory in Renton, Washington.
“When it comes to the safety of our products and services, every decision and every action matters,” Calhoun said in the email shared directly with The U.S. Sun.
He stated that when serious accidents, like that one on Friday, occur, “it is critical for us to work transparently with our customers and regulators to understand and address the causes of the event, and to ensure they don’t happen again.”
“I am deeply grateful to our colleagues who have been working tirelessly on our company’s response over the past two days,” he continued.
The meeting will focus on the company’s response to the accident, along with Boeing’s commitment to “safety, quality, integrity, and transparency.”
Calhoun says the company has been working hard to strengthen their quality control systems and safety management, but incidents such as Flight 1282 is a reminder to continue improving.
Along with the safety meeting, Calhoun has cancelled a leadership summit for all company vice presidents.
The CEO decided to cancel the event to focus on the investigation of Flight 1282 and to provide support to passengers who were on the Alaska Airlines flight.
“In light of the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 in-flight event, we are canceling the Summit to focus on our support to Alaska Airlines and the ongoing National Transportation Safety Board investigation, and any of our airline customers experiencing impact to their fleets,” Calhoun said in a message to all Boeing VP’s.
SKY HIGH TROUBLE
Aviation giant Boeing has found itself plunged into crisis after a series of dangerous jet failures and the death of a company whistleblower.
The death of John Barnett from an apparent “self-inflicted” gunshot wound comes after a window panel on a Boeing 737 was ripped from one plane mid-flight – and a wheel dropped from the bottom of another jet during takeoff.
Mr Barnett, a former longtime Boeing employee-turned-whistleblower, was found dead in his truck just days after giving evidence against the company which is in the midst of a criminal investigation.
And it’s not the first time Boeing has been caught up in controversy.
The 737 MAX, most commonly used aircraft for commercial flights in the world, was grounded in countries around the world between March 2019 and December 2020.
It came after 346 people died in two similar crashes on the planes, the Lion Air flight in October 2018 and the Ethiopian Airlines flight in March 2019.
The following year debris was also found in the fuel tanks of jets kept in storage with the head of Boeing’s 737 programme telling employees that the discovery was “absolutely unacceptable”.
The planes were eventually allowed to take off in late 2020 after upgrades were made to their jets.
But recent months have seen a spate of fresh safety concerns for the airline giant.
BOEING WHISTLEBLOWER DEAD
Earlier this month, a former Boeing employee turned whistleblower was found dead in his truck days after giving evidence against the company.
John Barnett, 62, had worked for Boeing for 32 years before he retired in 2017.
He had been providing evidence of alleged wrongdoing at Boeing to investigators working on a lawsuit against the company at the time of his death, according to the BBC.
Barnett died from a “self-inflicted” wound on March 9, the coroner said, as police investigate.