On June 18, Boeing (NYSE:BA) CEO Dave Calhoun, who plans to depart the corporation, is expected to testify before a U.S. Senate subcommittee. The planemaker’s best-selling 737 MAX manufacturing was capped by regulators following several incidents that cast doubt on the model’s reliability and safety.
The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations’ chairman, Senator Richard Blumenthal, announced that Calhoun would testify on a number of topics. When a door panel on an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 blew off on January 5, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) banned Boeing from increasing 737 MAX production in February.
As part of a larger management change, Calhoun has announced his resignation by the end of the year. The move comes as Boeing is under pressure to recruit a new CEO due to government probes as well as investor and airline criticism. Following the resignation of his scandal-plagued predecessor in 2020, the seasoned General Electric (NYSE:GE) executive and lengthy member of the Boeing board assumed leadership of the business.
Industry sources claim that Spirit AeroSystems (NYSE:SPR) CEO Pat Shanahan and Boeing Commercial Airplanes president Stephanie Pope are contenders for the company’s top position. Boeing stated that it was pleased that Calhoun would be able to address its efforts to improve quality and safety in his Senate testimony.
FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker is scheduled to appear before the Senate Commerce Committee on June 13 regarding the agency’s oversight of Boeing and other aircraft manufacturers. Whitaker gave Boeing 90 days at the end of February to create a detailed plan to deal with “systemic quality-control issues.”
