Summary Kelly Ortberg, the new president and CEO of Boeing, began his tenure as the chief executive of the aircraft manufacturer as it continues to deal with the fallout of the Alaska Airlines mid-air door plug blowout. Ortberg replaced David Calhoun, who will stay at the company as a member of the board. The new CEO started his tenure just a day after the NTSB ended its two-day hearing about the door plug blowout.
While the two events were unrelated, Kelly Ortberg, the new president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Boeing , has begun his tenure just as the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) ended its two-day hearings related to the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 door plug blowout, an event that has sent the aircraft manufacturer into its latest crisis. Replacing Calhoun Ortberg, who replaced David Calhoun, who has remained at the company as a board member, began his tenure as the chief executive of the plane maker on August 8. In a publicly published letter, Ortberg remarked that he was proud and excited to join Boeing, immediately admitting that the company has a lot of work to do to restore trust in the company.
However, he was confident that by working together, its employees will return the manufacturer’s status of being the leader of the industry. “Restoring trust starts with meeting our commitments – whether that’s building high quality, safe commercial aircraft, delivering on defense and space products that allow our customers to meet their mission, or servicing our products to keep our customers running 24/7.” It also meant that Boeing’s employees have to meet commitments to each other and work collaboratively to meet the company’s goals, Ortberg added.
The work that Boeing does was complex, and that was why the new CEO believed the company had to get closer to the production lines and development programs, which was why the executive planned to be based in Seattle, where Boeing’s main assembly lines are located. On August 8, Ortberg visited the Renton assembly line, where Boeing takes deliveries of various components of the 737 and assembles the final aircraft before its delivery to customers. He said that he would also review its safety and quality plans there, adding that he would be visiting other sites “soon.
” “In speaking with our customers and industry partners leading up to today, I can tell you that without exception, everyone wants us to succeed. In many cases, they NEED us to succeed. This is a great foundation for us to build upon.
” Ex-Rockwell Collins leader, Kelly Ortberg, has been picked for the top job. Changes amidst crises Ortberg promised to be transparent with the company’s employees, sharing news as Boeing progressed with its planned safety and quality improvements, as well as any future plans. Citing his three-decade career in aerospace, the new CEO stated that he had been impressed by Boeing’s employees, adding that the company has what it takes to win, and he was committed to working with everyone to ensure that everybody was proud of being part of Boeing.
Ortberg replaced Calhoun as the company entered another crisis several years after the 737 MAX groundings. The latest downward spiral began after an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 lost its mid-exit door plug as it was climbing out of Portland International Airport (PDX) in January. While the aircraft returned to PDX after the door plug, which was later found in a backyard in Portland , with several injuries onboard, airlines and regulators have begun scrutinizing Boeing and its manufacturing processes.
The Boeing executive's statements related to the Alaska Airlines incident have resulted in sanctions by the NTSB. Calhoun himself replaced Dennis Muilenburg in December 2019, as the plane maker struggled to contain the fallout of the two fatal 737 MAX crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, which resulted in regulators grounding the type gradually across the world in March 2019. The FAA eventually ungrounded the type in December 2020, and in January 2021, Boeing and the Department of Justice (DOJ) entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA).
In May, the DOJ found that the aircraft manufacturer had violated the DPA. The two sides finalized a plea deal in July, with Boeing agreeing to pay $243.6 million.
At the time, the DOJ stated that the company broke the terms of the DPA by failing to design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect further violations of US fraud laws. The DOJ and Boeing have asked the court to accept the plea agreement consistent with standard practice of the United States Government. Going through the door blowout Unlike during the 737 MAX groundings in 2019, the reactions following the 737 MAX 9 door plug blowout were swift.
While initially, airlines in the US voluntarily grounded their fleets of the type, the FAA followed suit, restricting carriers from operating the 737 MAX 9 commercially on January 6, a day after the Alaska Airlines incident. Not every 737 MAX 9 has a door plug, with operators being mandated to fit emergency exits if they design their 737 MAX 9 with more seats on the type. On the 737 MAX 9 involved in the incident, which the airline returned to Boeing , the airline fitted 178 seats.
While the US regulator had ungrounded the type shortly after, the FAA stated that it would prohibit Boeing from raising the monthly production rate while also providing the aircraft manufacturer 90 days to come up with comprehensive safety and quality improvement plan. The NTSB issued its preliminary incident report on February 6, determining that the bolts that were supposed to retain the door plug were missing. However, the investigators will provide the contributing factors and probable cause(s) of the incident with the final report.
As part of its investigation, the agency visited Spirit AeroSystem's headquarters in Wichita, Kansas. Nevertheless, Boeing, Spirit AeroSystems , which supplies the manufacturer with the fuselages that included the defective fuselage whose door plug had to be opened up during the assembly process, FAA, and other stakeholders were involved in two-day hearings in Washington, DC, the US on August 6 and August 7. During the hearings, Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems’ working cultures were scrutinized, as well as how the two companies ensure quality and safety assurance during the production of their products, including the 737.
The two companies announced a definitive agreement for the former to acquire the latter in July . Before the two-day event, the NTSB sanctioned Boeing and the company lost access to any new information from the investigation into the incident for disclosing non-public information at a media event at its facilities. The two-day hearings will continue on August 7, with the NTSB continuing to interrogate Boeing, Spirit AeroSystems, FAA, and other stakeholders.
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