Boeing’s top executives, including CEO Dave Calhoun, have announced to retire as the aviation giant faces increased scrutiny following a series of safety incidents and manufacturing issues.
Calhoun announced on March 25 that he would step down from the role by the end of 2024.
“As you all know, the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 accident was a watershed moment for Boeing,” Calhoun said in a message to employees on Monday. “I want to share with you that I have decided this will be my last year as CEO of our great company, and I have notified the board of that decision.”
Other executives leaving the company include Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Stan Deal and Board Chair Larry Kellner.
The departure of Boeing’s senior management comes at a time when the company is grappling with a crisis of public trust due to quality issues.
In January, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded Boeing 737 Max 9 models following the Alaska Airlines incident, where the plane lost its door plug mid-flight.
An internal investigation later revealed that many of Boeing’s planes had loose bolts. Just last week, major airlines requested a meeting with the manufacturer to discuss its strategy for improving quality control.
The incident with Alaska Airlines has led to increased scrutiny of Boeing’s safety measures. An FAA investigation concluded that there was no “foundational commitment to safety” within the company. A Boeing senior manager also recently told the LA Times that he would “absolutely not fly a Max airplane.”
Moreover, in a disturbing turn of events, a Boeing whistleblower, John Barnett, was found dead in a parking lot after raising safety concerns about the company. Barnett, a former quality control engineer at Boeing, had testified against the company just a week earlier in March. His attorneys have requested more information about his death.
This is not the first crisis Boeing has faced. In January 2021, a faulty throttle system on Boeing planes led to a plane crash in Indonesia, killing all 62 people on board. Boeing also admitted full responsibility for a 737 Max crash in Ethiopia in 2019, which claimed the lives of 157 passengers.
The recent departure of Boeing’s leaders is not surprising given the magnitude of the scandal. Reports in the months following the Alaska Airlines incident highlighted long-standing concerns about Boeing’s safety practices.
The company’s problems appear to be cultural, with Boeing focusing more on pleasing shareholders than regulators. Boeing hopes that a shake-up in its C-suite will help address these underlying issues.