Ed Clark oversaw the Renton factory where the Alaska Airlines plane that exploded was built.
The head of Boeing Co.'s troubled 737 MAX program has left the plane maker amid intense scrutiny over its production and safety measures following the plane's mid-air explosion last month, according to a company memo.
The Seattle Times first reported Wednesday that Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) also restructured its executive team for its commercial aircraft division, according to a memo sent to employees by CEO Stan Diehl.
Ed Clark, who worked for Boeing for 18 years and served as vice president of the MAX program, is leaving the company, according to the memo. The Seattle Times reported that he was forced out.
Clark will be replaced as executive vice president and general manager by Katie Ringgold, according to the memo.
Boeing is scrambling to explain and strengthen its safety procedures after a cabin panel on Alaska Airlines' new 737 MAX 9 plane came loose and flew into the air in January.
Clark was the general manager of the company's Renton, Wash., factory, where the plane that crashed was built.
Diehl said in the memo that the change in leadership will focus BCA's “focus on ensuring that every aircraft we deliver meets or exceeds all of our quality and safety requirements.” The Seattle Times reported that the aim is to promote the
The leadership change is scheduled to take place after Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun visits Renton next week for regulators to tour the Boeing 737 factory with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Mike Whitaker. The meeting was held prior to the meeting.
The FAA grounded the MAX 9 for several weeks in January and restricted MAX production while it audited Boeing's manufacturing process.
A preliminary report from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board in early February said four key bolts appeared to be missing from the door panel that flew off the jet.
According to the report, the door plug in question was removed to repair the rivet damage, but the NTSB found no evidence that the bolt was reinstalled.
This panel is a plug for some 737 MAX 9s, not an additional emergency exit.
This is the second crisis involving Boeing in recent years, following two MAX jet crashes that killed 346 people.