| | | Re <<737 ... monkeys ... Boeing ... Huawei ... unintended ...>>
Has you brother changed his mind w/r to monkeys in pilot seats vs monkeys in executive chairs?
nytimes.com
Top Boeing Executive to Leave as 737 Max Crisis Swells
By David Gelles and Natalie Kitroeff
Updated 3:32 p.m. ET
Kevin McAllister has been at the center of Boeing’s efforts to fix an automated system that contributed to two deadly crashes and return the 737 Max jet to service.Jason Redmond/Reuters
Boeing’s executive in charge of commercial airplanes is leaving, the company said on Tuesday. He is the most senior official to depart as the airline maker struggles to contain the crisis following the crashes of two 737 Max jets that killed 346 people.
The executive, Kevin McAllister, had been at the center of the company’s efforts to fix the automated system that contributed to the two crashes and return the plane to service. This month, The New York Times reported that he was under scrutiny inside the company for his poor handling of customer relationships and his management of the commercial division, which is Boeing’s largest business.
Stanley A. Deal, the head of global services for Boeing, will replace Mr. McAllister.
His departure adds a new element of volatility to the biggest crisis in the company’s 103-year-history. The Max jets have been grounded since March, costing Boeing at least $8 billion and disrupting the global aviation industry.
“We’re grateful to Kevin for his dedicated and tireless service to Boeing, its customers and its communities during a challenging time, and for his commitment to support this transition,” the company’s chief executive, Dennis A. Muilenburg, said in a statement.
The news about Mr. McAllister comes days after messages became public that suggested a pilot working on the Max had voiced concerns about the automated system in 2016, months before the Federal Aviation Administration certified the plane. That system, known as MCAS, was found to have played a role in the accidents.
Boeing 737 Max: What’s Happened After the 2 Deadly CrashesBoeing remains under intense scrutiny nearly one year after the first Max jet was involved in a fatal accident.
Those messages undermined Boeing’s long-held position that it had no indication that the Max was unsafe until the crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 in Indonesia last October and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in March.
Since the Max’s grounding shortly after the second crash, airlines have canceled thousands of flights and lost hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.
The Max’s return to service has been delayed multiple times in recent months as Boeing and global regulators have uncovered new problems with the plane. Airlines do not expect the plane to fly again until next year.
Boeing has said that if the delays persist much longer, it may be forced to halt production of the Max, a drastic step that would disrupt Boeing’s enormous manufacturing work force and its vast network of suppliers.
Boeing is facing multiple investigations and lawsuits related to the crashes, including a criminal investigation being led by the Department of Justice. Boeing is scheduled to report quarterly earnings on Wednesday, and Mr. Muilenburg is preparing to testify before Congress next week.
The commercial division is dealing with problems beyond the Max. They include claims of shoddy production at Boeing’s plant in Charleston, S.C.; cracking on the 737 NG, the Max’s predecessor; and the discovery of foreign objects inside the KC-46 tanker, a military aircraft that the group builds. |
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