Boeing removes head of 737 MAX programme amid safety concerns
economictimes.indiatimes.comBoeing has removed the head of its troubled 737 MAX programme from the planemaker, amid scrutiny around production and safety measures following a mid-air blowout on a plane last month, Al Jazeera reported.
The company also reshuffled its leadership team at the Commercial Airplanes division, according to a company memo sent to staff by Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) CEO Stan Deal, Al Jazeera reported, citing the Seattle Times.
Ed Clark, an 18-year Boeing veteran who was vice president of the MAX programme, will leave the company, the memo said. The Seattle Times reported that he had been pushed out.
Clark is being replaced by Katie Ringgold as vice president and general manager, according to the memo.
Meanwhile, Boeing has been scrambling to explain and strengthen its safety procedures after the January accident on a brand new Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9, in which a cabin panel became detached and flew off mid-air.
Clark was general manager at the company's factory in Renton, Washington, where the plane involved in the accident was completed.
In the memo, Deal said the leadership changes were intended to drive BCA's «enhanced focus on ensuring that every airplane we deliver meets or exceeds all quality and safety requirements», The Seattle Times reported.
The leadership changes come in advance of Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun's planned meeting with US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) Administrator Mike Whitaker next week after the regulator travelled to
