Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun announced Monday he will step down at the end of 2024—with several other executives leaving their roles—amid ongoing scrutiny of the safety of the manufacturing giant’s aircrafts.
Calhoun, who became CEO in 2020, called the Jan. 5 incident on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282—in which a door blew off a Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft mid-flight—a “watershed” moment for the company, adding Boeing must continue to respond with “humility and complete transparency” while instilling “total commitment to safety and quality at every level of our company.”
Calhoun told CNBC the decision to leave was “100%” his own.
Board chairman Larry Kellner will not seek re-election at the company’s annual shareholders meeting, the company said, and Steve Mollenkopf has been selected to replace him.
Stan Deal, the firm’s CEO of commercial airplanes is retiring effective Monday, with Stephanie Pope replacing him.
The Justice Department reportedly launched a criminal probe into the Alaska Airlines incident earlier this month, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources and documents familiar with the matter.
The Federal Aviation Administration gave Boeing a May deadline to draft a new safety plan addressing “its systemic quality-control issues.”
Boeing extended its mandatory retirement age from 65 to 70 to allow Calhoun, now 66, to remain as CEO in April 2021, Reuters reported.
Calhoun began serving on Boeing’s board of directors in 2009 and became chairman in late 2019 prior to taking on the role as CEO, according to the company. Dennis Muilenburg, his predecessor, was fired in December 2019 for his handling of two fatal crashes involving Boeing aircrafts in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 passengers and crew. Since January’s Alaska Airlines incident, the manufacturer has found itself under renewed regulatory scrutiny from the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board, with the NTSB launching a separate investigation in March into another incident involving a “stuck” pedal on the rudder of a Boeing 737 Max 8.
Boeing Whistleblower John Barnett Found Dead This Weekend—Here’s What To Know (Forbes)
Boeing Has Put Production Over Safety, FAA Head Says Amid 737 Controversies (Forbes)
Justice Department Opens Criminal Investigation Into Alaska Airlines Door Blowout, Report Says (Forbes)
What Has Happened to Boeing Since the 737 Max Crashes (PBS)
