Boeing CEO, other executives stepping down amid safety crisis

Three senior Boeing executives including its CEO are stepping down, the company said Monday, as the company continues to deal with an ongoing scandal surrounding the safety of its passenger jets.

CEO Dave Calhoun confirmed he was leaving the company in a statement. Stan Deal, the CEO and president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, has retired effective immediately. Larry Kellner, chair of the company’s board of directors, will not stand for re-election at the next shareholders’ annual meeting. Boeing board member and former Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf will succeed Kellner.

“President and CEO Dave Calhoun today announced his decision to step down as CEO at the end of 2024, and he will continue to lead Boeing through the year to complete the critical work underway to stabilize and position the company for the future,” Boeing said in a statement.

The company has been mired in a succession of negative stories since a door panel blew out on a Boeing 737 Max plane flown by Alaska Airlines in January.

Despite Boeing announcing a range of measures to improve safety and committing to working with federal investigators, some passengers have spoken of feeling nervous climbing on board its aircraft.

In a letter to staff, posted on the Boeing website, Calhoun acknowledged that the Alaska Airlines incident had changed the company.

“As you all know, the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 accident was a watershed moment for Boeing,” he wrote. “We must continue to respond to this accident with humility and complete transparency. We also must inculcate a total commitment to safety and quality at every level of our company.”

“The eyes of the world are on us,” he said, referring to ongoing efforts to reassure both the company’s airline customers and the flying public that its aircraft are safe.

Calhoun said the company had over the last five years faced “some of the most significant challenges our company and industry have ever faced in our 108-year history.”

The fallout from that fateful flight shows no sign of stopping: The FBI informed passengers last week that they may have been the victims of a crime which the bureau is still investigating.

Michael Whitaker, administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, told NBC News in an interview last week that the company had no choice but to develop a plan to improve its culture and practices to meet the agency’s safety standards.

This is a developing story, check back here for updates soon