Date: 2025-08-21 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00026282
BOEING
GOING THROUGH A BAD PATCH
Head of Boeing’s 737 program will leave the company
The departure of Ed Clark is part of a shake-up in Boeing
leadership after a jet blew a hole mid-flight
GOING THROUGH A BAD PATCH
Head of Boeing’s 737 program will leave the company
The departure of Ed Clark is part of a shake-up in Boeing
leadership after a jet blew a hole mid-flight
Boeing's 737 Max 9 under construction at the company's production facility in Renton, Wash., in 2017. (Jason Redmond/Reuters)
Original article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2024/02/21/boeing-staff-shakeup-737-max/
Peter Burgess COMMENTARY
Peter Burgess
The departure of Ed Clark is part of a shake-up in Boeing leadership after a jet blew a hole mid-flight
Written by Lori Aratani and Ian Duncan
Updated February 21, 2024 at 6:25 p.m. EST|Published February 21, 2024 at 2:20 p.m. EST
The executive who led Boeing’s 737 Max program is leaving the company, the first significant staff shake-up since a Boeing-made jet suffered a hole blown in the side of its fuselage midflight last month.
In a memo sent to employees Wednesday, Stan Deal, chief executive of Boeing’s commercial airplane division, announced that Ed Clark will depart the company immediately. Clark was an 18-year veteran of the company who in 2021 became vice president of the 737 program and general manager of Boeing’s factory in Renton, Wash. Katie Ringgold, vice president of 737 delivery operations, will take his place.
The memo, which Boeing circulated to the media, also announced other leadership changes. Elizabeth Lund, a senior vice president and general manager of airplane programs for the company’s commercial aircraft program, was appointed to the newly created position of senior vice president overseeing quality control and quality assurance efforts.
Deal wrote that the changes are focused on the company’s “enhanced focus on ensuring that every airplane we deliver meets or exceeds all quality and safety requirements. Our customers demand, and deserve, nothing less.”
Clark could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
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- What we know about the Boeing 737 Max 9 accident
- After the Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 blowout, the FAA’s oversight of Boeing faces new questions.
- Alaska Airlines passengers are suing Boeing after a door-like panel on its 737 Max 9 plane detached midflight, their attorneys said.
- The FAA is investigating whether Boeing had potential flaws in its manufacturing process and the role of a key supplier.
- What happened on the Alaska Airlines flight? Here’s how rapid depressurization occurred.
- The door plug that blew out of a Boeing plane was found in an Oregon schoolteacher’s backyard, and an iPhone survived a 16,000-foot fall.
- Alaska Airlines offered passengers $1,500 after the Boeing Max 9 incident, but legal action could reap greater awards.
The company is awaiting the results of a Federal Aviation Administration review of Boeing’s quality assurance and control programs, expected this month.
After midair failure, critics ask: Did Boeing learn from Max crashes?
The stepped-up scrutiny from the FAA follows last month’s accident involving a Boeing 737 Max 9 jet operated by Alaska Airlines.
On Jan. 5, shortly after takeoff from Portland International Airport, part of the plane’s fuselage blew off in an incident that terrified passengers and crew members and forced an emergency landing. A day later, the FAA grounded more than 100 737 Max 9 jets until they could be inspected. The agency also has moved to limit the number of 737 Max jets Boeing can build.
A preliminary investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board found that bolts used to secure the part that fell off — known as a door plug — were missing. The door plug was installed by a Boeing subcontractor, Spirit AeroSystems, on Aug. 20, the report said, but was later removed for a repair at Boeing’s Renton factory. A photo shared by Boeing employees on Sept. 19 showed three bolts missing. A fourth bolt was not visible in the picture.
The incident and subsequent revelations have renewed scrutiny of Boeing and raised concerns that the company has not learned from two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 that involved a different version of the company’s popular 737 Max jet. The crashes led to the ouster of Boeing’s president at the time.
As part of the FAA’s stepped-up oversight, Administrator Michael Whitaker toured the Renton factory last week, where he spoke with Boeing engineers and mechanics. During the trip, Whitaker also met with FAA employees involved in Boeing’s oversight.
Whitaker was set to meet with Boeing executives as early as this week for follow-up discussions. The administrator is awaiting a report from a panel convened last year to review Boeing’s safety culture. That review was launched as part of a package of measures passed by Congress in the wake of the 2018 crash of a Lion Air jet in Indonesia and the 2019 crash of an Ethiopian Airlines jet in Ethiopia. The crashes, which were blamed on a flawed software system, involved another version of Boeing’s popular 737 aircraft, the Max 8.
The Alaska Airlines accident also renewed questions about the FAA’s oversight of Boeing. At a subcommittee hearing this month, Whitaker told the panel that he agreed the current oversight system was not working and that a more “hands-on approach” by regulators was needed. He said the agency has increased the number of inspectors at Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems factories.
Whitaker also said the FAA is studying whether some of the oversight authority delegated to Boeing should instead be handled by an independent third party.
Boeing chief executive David Calhoun has apologized for the Alaska Airlines accident.
“Whatever final conclusions are reached, Boeing is accountable for what happened,” he said.
Boeing has stepped up its quality-control efforts, holding safety stand-downs, in which production is halted to give employees time to take part in working sessions designed to identify where quality and compliance efforts can be improved. The company also has begun new inspections of the door plugs during the manufacturing process and developed new protocols for how the opening and removal of the part should be documented.
Written by Lori Aratani ... Lori Aratani writes about transportation issues, including how people get around -- or don't. Her beat includes airlines and airports, as well as the agencies that oversee them. Twitter
TRANSPORTATION Head of Boeing’s 737 program will leave the company The departure of Ed Clark is part of a shake-up in Boeing leadership after a jet blew a hole mid-flight By Lori Aratani and Ian Duncan Updated February 21, 2024 at 6:25 p.m. EST|Published February 21, 2024 at 2:20 p.m. EST
Boeing's 737 Max 9 under construction at the company's production facility in Renton, Wash., in 2017. (Jason Redmond/Reuters) The executive who led Boeing’s 737 Max program is leaving the company, the first significant staff shake-up since a Boeing-made jet suffered a hole blown in the side of its fuselage midflight last month. In a memo sent to employees Wednesday, Stan Deal, chief executive of Boeing’s commercial airplane division, announced that Ed Clark will depart the company immediately. Clark was an 18-year veteran of the company who in 2021 became vice president of the 737 program and general manager of Boeing’s factory in Renton, Wash. Katie Ringgold, vice president of 737 delivery operations, will take his place. The memo, which Boeing circulated to the media, also announced other leadership changes. Elizabeth Lund, a senior vice president and general manager of airplane programs for the company’s commercial aircraft program, was appointed to the newly created position of senior vice president overseeing quality control and quality assurance efforts. Deal wrote that the changes are focused on the company’s “enhanced focus on ensuring that every airplane we deliver meets or exceeds all quality and safety requirements. Our customers demand, and deserve, nothing less.” Clark could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Skip to end of carousel What we know about the Boeing 737 Max 9 accident arrow leftarrow right After the Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 blowout, the FAA’s oversight of Boeing faces new questions. Alaska Airlines passengers are suing Boeing after a door-like panel on its 737 Max 9 plane detached midflight, their attorneys said. The FAA is investigating whether Boeing had potential flaws in its manufacturing process and the role of a key supplier. What happened on the Alaska Airlines flight? Here’s how rapid depressurization occurred. The door plug that blew out of a Boeing plane was found in an Oregon schoolteacher’s backyard, and an iPhone survived a 16,000-foot fall. Alaska Airlines offered passengers $1,500 after the Boeing Max 9 incident, but legal action could reap greater awards. 1/2
End of carousel
The company is awaiting the results of a Federal Aviation Administration review of Boeing’s quality assurance and control programs, expected this month.
After midair failure, critics ask: Did Boeing learn from Max crashes? The stepped-up scrutiny from the FAA follows last month’s accident involving a Boeing 737 Max 9 jet operated by Alaska Airlines. On Jan. 5, shortly after takeoff from Portland International Airport, part of the plane’s fuselage blew off in an incident that terrified passengers and crew members and forced an emergency landing. A day later, the FAA grounded more than 100 737 Max 9 jets until they could be inspected. The agency also has moved to limit the number of 737 Max jets Boeing can build. A preliminary investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board found that bolts used to secure the part that fell off — known as a door plug — were missing. The door plug was installed by a Boeing subcontractor, Spirit AeroSystems, on Aug. 20, the report said, but was later removed for a repair at Boeing’s Renton factory. A photo shared by Boeing employees on Sept. 19 showed three bolts missing. A fourth bolt was not visible in the picture. The incident and subsequent revelations have renewed scrutiny of Boeing and raised concerns that the company has not learned from two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 that involved a different version of the company’s popular 737 Max jet. The crashes led to the ouster of Boeing’s president at the time. As part of the FAA’s stepped-up oversight, Administrator Michael Whitaker toured the Renton factory last week, where he spoke with Boeing engineers and mechanics. During the trip, Whitaker also met with FAA employees involved in Boeing’s oversight. Whitaker was set to meet with Boeing executives as early as this week for follow-up discussions. The administrator is awaiting a report from a panel convened last year to review Boeing’s safety culture. That review was launched as part of a package of measures passed by Congress in the wake of the 2018 crash of a Lion Air jet in Indonesia and the 2019 crash of an Ethiopian Airlines jet in Ethiopia. The crashes, which were blamed on a flawed software system, involved another version of Boeing’s popular 737 aircraft, the Max 8. The Alaska Airlines accident also renewed questions about the FAA’s oversight of Boeing. At a subcommittee hearing this month, Whitaker told the panel that he agreed the current oversight system was not working and that a more “hands-on approach” by regulators was needed. He said the agency has increased the number of inspectors at Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems factories. Whitaker also said the FAA is studying whether some of the oversight authority delegated to Boeing should instead be handled by an independent third party. Boeing chief executive David Calhoun has apologized for the Alaska Airlines accident.
“Whatever final conclusions are reached, Boeing is accountable for what happened,” he said.
Boeing has stepped up its quality-control efforts, holding safety stand-downs, in which production is halted to give employees time to take part in working sessions designed to identify where quality and compliance efforts can be improved. The company also has begun new inspections of the door plugs during the manufacturing process and developed new protocols for how the opening and removal of the part should be documented.
Written by Lori Aratani ... Lori Aratani writes about transportation issues, including how people get around -- or don't. Her beat includes airlines and airports, as well as the agencies that oversee them. Twitter
Written by Ian Duncan ... Ian Duncan is a reporter covering federal transportation agencies and the politics of transportation. He previously worked at the Baltimore Sun for seven years, covering city hall, the military and criminal justice. He was part of the Sun's team covering Freddie Gray's death in 2015 and then-Mayor Catherine Pugh's Healthy Holly books scandal. Twitter