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Boeing 737 Max series aircraft in front of a manufacturing facility in Renton, Washington, 2019

Photo: Lindsey Wasson / REUTERS

The US aircraft manufacturer Boeing is separating from a leading aircraft manager. Ed Clark, the head of the Boeing 737 Max program, which includes the Max 9, is leaving the company effective immediately. The company announced this in a memo to employees. Katie Ringgold, who was previously responsible for deliveries, will be her successor. According to US media, further personnel changes in management are likely to follow.

Boeing is under pressure from regulators, airlines and US politicians after an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 lost a fuselage part while flying over the US state on January 5. The more than 170 people on board escaped with horror. And by a lucky coincidence, the two seats right next to the hole in the cabin wall were unoccupied. Images of the hole in the aircraft cabin went around the world.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) then ordered all Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft to be grounded and inspected. The US investigative agency NTSB later came to the conclusion that four fastening bolts were missing from the fuselage fragment.

The 737 Max is a special case

The incident was just the latest in a series of problems and misfortunes. Many people will particularly remember the 737 Max 8 planes from Indonesian Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines that crashed in 2018 and 2019. A total of 346 people died. This medium-haul jet, which can fly more than 6,000 kilometers and was developed from the famous Boeing 737, is a special case.

The company's message, repeated like a mantra, sounded correspondingly hollow: "Safety is our top priority." With the personnel changes, Boeing is now sending the signal that it is taking the deficiencies seriously and wants to make a fresh start when it comes to safety. Ringgold will also take over management of the Renton factory from Clark, where the machines are assembled.

Boeing is now creating a new position in the top management of the commercial aircraft division. Elizabeth Lund will take care of quality control both within the group and among suppliers, wrote division boss Stan Deal in an email to employees. The fuselage of the 737 Max models is primarily built by the supplier Spirit Aerosystems.

After the incident, the US aviation regulator FAA halted Boeing's plans to expand production of the 737 Max aircraft until further notice. The group needs this to process the order books - the airlines are already having to prepare for long waiting times. The problems with the medium-haul jet 737 Max and other models caused the US aircraft manufacturer to experience its fifth year of losses in a row in 2023. The bottom line was a deficit of more than 2.2 billion US dollars (a good two billion euros). And that was before the loss of the fuselage incident over Oregon.

mgo/dpa