David Calhoun, the CEO of Boeing Co (NYSE:BA), has stepped down along with chairman Larry Kellner in the wake of an investigation by federal authorities into the January Alaska Airlines (NYSE:AAL) incident when a door panel blew out in mid-flight.
Calhoun has said he will stay on until the end of the year, to aid the company’s efforts to rebuild its reputation, while Kellner is expected to leave following the manufacturer’s annual general meeting in May.
Following the investigation by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), which found a number of failures on safety issues, Boeing has also announced the immediate departure of Stan Deal, president and CEO of the company’s Commercial Airplanes division.
Clean Sweep
The departures will effectively take a fresh broom to the company leadership, following the announcements last month of several other high-level departures, including those responsible for Commercial Airplanes Quality and the president of the 737 Max program.
Asked on CNBC on Monday, why he was not departing immediately, Calhoun said: “We have another mountain to climb. Let's not avoid what happened with Alaska Air. Let's not avoid the call for action. Let's not avoid the ...