Boeing announced the firing of Ed Clark, the executive in charge of the 737 program, after the accident in January of an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9, which lost a door while flying in the skies of Oregon.
The flight, bound for California with 174 passengers and six crew members, was forced to make an emergency landing in Portland. The images shared on social media immediately documented the detachment of a window and a portion of the aircraft’s wall. The Boeing 737 MAX 9, en route to California, had 174 passengers and six crew members on board. Due to the problem encountered during the flight, the plane returned to Portland airport. The Federal Aviation Administration launched an investigation into the crash where, miraculously, there were no injuries or fatalities.
Clark, who had been at Boeing for 18 years, will be replaced as vice president and general manager of the 737 Program by Katie Ringgold. The decision, Boeing Commercial Airplanes President Stan Deal explained in an email to employees, is part of the company’s “increased focus on ensuring that every airplane we deliver meets or exceeds all quality and safety requirements. Our customers ask and deserve nothing less.”
– Alaska Airlines Boeing accident, increasing number of companies leaving their “737 MAX 9” on the ground for checks
The release, therefore, comes after yet another accident involving an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max aircraft and is part of the American aviation giant’s efforts to improve the quality and safety control process. Clark had taken the reins of the Max program in 2021 as Boeing was ramping up production after the aircraft was grounded for 20 months following two fatal crashes.
Window and a piece of fuselage break off in flight: emergency landing for Alaska Airlines Boeing 737
Boeing also named longtime executive Elizabeth Lund to the new position of senior vice president for BCA Quality, where she will lead quality control and assurance efforts.
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What happened to the 737 Max 9s after January 5th? The US aviation regulator has allowed Boeing 737 Max 9 planes to resume flying after inspections, but barred the planemaker from expanding production. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had grounded 171 Boeing 737 Max 9 planes after the Alaska Airlines crash. About 94% of the grounded planes have returned to service.
After two plane crashes here are the 737 Max, the mega parking lot of the aircraft under accusation
Boeing’s other Max plane crashes. In 2018, a crash similar to one that happened last month involved an older Boeing 737 model operated by Southwest Airlines. Debris from an engine failure broke one of the cabin windows as the plane traveled at 32,000 feet. The result was that a passenger was partially sucked out of the window and died from her injuries.
The company’s safety record was also tarnished by two accidents that occurred in late 2018 off the coast of Indonesia and early 2019 off the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. A total of 346 people died in the crashes, caused by faulty flight control software.