Boeing is a company with a storied history. Founded in 1916, the company has made many famous aircraft, beginning with the Boeing Model 1, a single-engine floatplane, and including the B-17, B-29, and B-52 bombers, the 707 and 747 airliners, and many more. The last airplane my father ever flew in was a B-17 Flying Fortress, and he would talk at length about how the pilots and crews loved that old warhorse.
Lately, though, Boeing has been beset with issues, not the least of which involved such mishaps as a door coming off a Boeing airliner in flight. As a result, Boeing's management is undergoing a major shake-up, including the end-of-year resignation of CEO David Calhoun.
Boeing CEO David Calhoun will step down from the embattled plane maker at the end of the year as part of a broad management shakeup after a series of mishaps at one of America’s iconic manufacturers.
Stan Deal, president and CEO of Boeing’s commercial airplanes unit, will retire immediately. Stephanie Pope, the company’s chief operating officer for less than three months, has taken over leadership of the key division.
The company said board Chairman Lawrence Kellner, a former airline chief, won’t stand for re-election in May and will be replaced by a former Qualcomm CEO.
Boeing has been under intense pressure since early January, when a panel blew off a brand-new Alaska Airlines 737 Max. Investigators say bolts that help keep the panel in place were missing after repair work at the Boeing factory.
This is probably to be expected, with the quality and upkeep problems the company has had of late.
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Boeing aircraft have been involved in several high-profile incidents in the last few years, including fatality accidents. In 2018 and 2019, two Boeing 737 MAX aircraft crashed, resulting in over 300 deaths. Most recently, Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, a 737 MAX 9 airliner, had an emergency exit plug blow out in flight, leaving a hole in the fuselage and requiring an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon. There were no fatalities in that incident, although several injuries were reported.
One major change that has already been announced is Boeing's bringing Spirit AeroSystems, the company that builds the 737 MAX series fuselages, back under Boeing's direct control.
Boeing’s most significant effort to improve quality has the opening of discussions about bringing Spirit AeroSystems, which builds fuselages for the Max and many parts for that and other Boeing planes, back into the company. Mistakes made at Spirit, which Boeing spun off nearly 20 years ago, have compounded the company’s problems.
Calhoun said the two companies are making progress in talks “and it’s very important.”
Even as the company's commercial division is undergoing these problems and the concomitant management shake-up, Boeing has been and likely will continue to be a major player in the aerospace industry. The company holds many military contracts, not just for aircraft but for missile defenses and directed-energy weapons systems. The company will be producing the new F-15EX air-superiority fighter, as well as continuing to produce the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter and the Block III F/A-18 Super Hornet, among others. The company that gave us the B-17 will be around for a while yet.
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