Boeing chief executive Dave Calhoun to leave as firm faces safety crisis
25 minutes agoBy Theo Leggett,Business correspondent, BBC News
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Boeing chief executive Dave Calhoun
Boeing's chief executive Dave Calhoun will leave the planemaker by the end of this year, the company has said.
Boeing also said that the boss of its commercial airlines division will retire immediately while its chairman will not stand for re-election.
The firm is facing a deepening crisis, when an unused door blew out of a Boeing 737 Max shortly after take-off.
No-one was injured but the firm's safety and quality control standards came under renewed scrutiny.
Mr Calhoun took on the chief executive role in early 2020 after the previous boss, Dennis Muilenburg, was ousted in the aftermath of one of the biggest scandals in its history.
Within the space of five months, two brand new 737 Max planes had been lost in almost identical accidents that claimed the lives of 346 passengers and crew.
Mr Calhoun promised to strengthen Boeing "safety culture" and "rebuild trust".
However, in January this year a disused emergency exit door blew off a new Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max shortly after take-off from Portland International Airport.
An initial report from the US National Transportation Safety Board concluded that four bolts meant to attach the door securely to the aircraft had not been fitted.
Boeing is reportedly facing a criminal investigation into the incident itself, as well as legal action from passengers aboard the plane.
Mr Calhoun said on Monday: "The eyes of the world are on us, and I know that we will come through this moment a better company."
In a letter to staff, he described the Alaska Airlines incident as a "watershed moment" for Boeing and it had to respond with "humility and complete transparency".
He said he had originally agreed to become chief executive "because of the unprecedented circumstances the company was facing at the time".
