Boeing ousts head of 737 jetliner programme weeks after panel blowout

Boeing has said that the head of its 737 programme is leaving the company in an executive shake-up weeks after a door panel blew out on a flight.

Boeing announced the departure of Ed Clark, who had been with the company for 18 years.

Katie Ringgold will succeed him as vice president and general manager of the 737 programme, and the company’s Renton, Washington site.

The moves are part of the company’s “enhanced focus on ensuring that every airplane we deliver meets or exceeds all quality and safety requirements,” Boeing Commercial Airplanes president Stan Deal wrote in an email to employees. “Our customers demand, and deserve, nothing less.”

In January, an emergency door panel blew off a Boeing 737 Max 9 over the US state of Oregon. Bolts that helped secure a panel to the frame of the 737 Max 9 were missing before the panel blew off the Alaska Airlines plane last month, according to accident investigators.

The shake-up comes after the head of the Federal Aviation Administration said Boeing – under pressure from airlines to produce large numbers of planes – is not paying enough attention to safety.

Boeing, which is based in Arlington, Virginia, also named long-time executive Elizabeth Lund to the new position of senior vice president for BCA Quality, where she will lead quality control and quality assurance efforts.