Boeing CEO to leave company by year-end, after a wave of safety incidents

Boeing’s chief executive Dave Calhoun will leave the plane-maker by the end of 2024, according to the company.

The company has been rocked by controversy after a cabin panel blowout on one of its planes, and a number of other serious safety incidents.

Boeing operates an innovation acceleration programme aimed at startups called Aerospace Xelerated, formerly known as the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI). It is also surrounded by a large ecosystem of aerospace startups that engage with the company. At press time there was no statement around how Calhoun’s departure might affect this program. TechCrunch has reached out to Aerospace Xelerated for comment.

In a company statement, Calhoun said he planned to “complete the critical work underway to stabilize and position the company for the future” over the coming months.

A brand-new 737 Max 9 jet belonging to Alaska Airlines was forced into an emergency landing in January, prompting 171 Max 9 jets to be grounded for several weeks.

The incident created Boeing’s biggest safety crisis since two of its Max 8 jets crashed in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people.

The company said Stan Deal, who heads up Boeing’s commercial airplanes business (BCA), will also leave the business.

Stephanie Pope has been appointed to lead BCA. In a statement, the company Pope has been serving as chief operating officer of Boeing since January of this year. Previously, she was president and chief executive officer of Boeing Global Services, where she was responsible for leading the company’s aerospace services for commercial, government and aviation industry customers worldwide.

[This story is developing and will be added to as more information comes to light].