Boeing says Chief Executive Officer Dave Calhoun will step down at the end of the year as part of a management shake-up at the embattled United States aircraft manufacturer.
The company also said on Monday that Chairman Larry Kellner would leave the board and be replaced by Steve Mollenkopf. Stan Deal, Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO, will retire, and Stephanie Pope will lead that business.
Calhoun has been under pressure since a near-catastrophic incident in January when a panel on a 737 MAX 9 Alaska Airlines jet blew out 5,000m (16,400ft) above the ground.
No one was seriously injured, but the plane was forced to make an emergency landing with a gaping hole in the cabin. The incident has also raised scrutiny of Boeing to its highest level since two crashes of Boeing 737 MAX jets in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has put the company under intense scrutiny and recently ordered an audit of assembly lines at a Boeing factory near Seattle.
Investigators say bolts that help keep the panel in place were missing after repair work on the 737 MAX 9 Alaska Airlines jet at the Boeing factory.
Last month, the FAA gave Boeing 90 days to come up with a plan addressing quality control issues, saying the company must “commit to real and profound improvements”.
“The eyes of the world are on us, and I know that we will come through this moment a better company,” Calhoun said in a letter to staff that referenced putting “safety and quality at the forefront of everything that we do”.
Boeing has also faced questions following several other potentially dangerous episodes in addition to the Alaska Airlines incident, including an engine fire on a Boeing 747 shortly after takeoff from Florida in January.
Earlier this month, a Boeing 777 jetliner bound for Japan had to make an emergency landing shortly after takeoff from San Francisco when a wheel fell off and plunged into an airport parking lot, damaging several cars.
Last week New Zealand authorities launched an investigation after a Boeing 787 Dreamliner violently lost altitude mid-flight from Sydney to Auckland, injuring some passengers.
Calhoun, who will step down at the end of the year, said “The Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 accident was a watershed moment for Boeing. We must continue to respond to this accident with humility and complete transparency.”
