David Calhoun took over as Boeing’s chief executive four years ago in the middle of a crisis that followed a pair of deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019. Both involved Boeing’s best-selling 737 Max 8.
Hopes of a successful overhaul have failed. On Monday, Calhoun said he would step down from the struggling plane maker at the end of the year. Stan Deal, head of Boeing’s commercial aeroplanes unit, will retire with immediate effect. Lawrence Kellner, board chair, said he would not stand for re-election in May.
Any decent planespotter could see this coming. Regulators, airlines, travellers and even Boeing’s workers are in revolt after another terrifying incident in January, in which a door plug on a 737 jet blew off mid-flight. The company is in a reputational crisis.