Boeing has handed a pink slip to the head of its troubled 737 Max program after a door plug calamity on an Alaska Airlines jet took the sky-high headaches for the aviation giant to new altitudes. Ed Clark, a seasoned vet with 18 years under his belt, was shown the door following the Jan. 5 incident where a door plug decided to part ways with the plane shortly after takeoff from Portland International Airport, KOIN reported.
Following the snafu, all Max 9s with similar door plugs were temporarily grounded nationwide, a blow to both Boeing's image and bottom line. Katie Ringgold is set to step into Clark's shoes as vice president and general manager of the 737 program and Renton site, a nod to the company's push towards stricter safety and quality measures. “Ed Clark is leaving the company. Ed departs with my, and our, deepest gratitude for his many significant contributions over nearly 18 years of dedicated service to Boeing,” CEO Stan Deal wrote in a staff announcement obtained by KOIN.
The aerospace giant has heralded other leadership changes to salvage its reputation after the rocky relaunch of the 737 Max line, which had been grounded globally in March 2019, following two fatal crashes linked to a faulty automated flight-control system."I am announcing several leadership changes as we continue driving BCA'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." Deal said, as mentioned in an ABC7 News report.
Anchoring this ambitious pivot, Deal has set Ringgold at the helm with expectations set high. The management shuffle is a move by Boeing to double down on its commitment to delivering aircraft that not only meet but exceed buyer expectations, as a preliminary investigation into the Alaska Airlines incident by the National Transportation Safety Board found four key bolts missing from the plug that took an unexpected exit, according to Fox Business.
Ringgold steps into a turbulent climate, tasked with steering the 737 Max program back to stable skies as Boeing looks to navigate away from this latest bout of turbulence and into a future where the words 'safety' and 'quality' are more than just buzzwords but are the bedrock of the manufacturing process
