Boeing has tapped Kirkland Donald, a retired Navy admiral, to conduct an independent assessment of its quality management systems amid multiple investigations after a panel blew off an Alaska Airlines plane midflight.
The Federal Aviation Administration grounded Boeing 737 Max 9 models after an incident involving an Alaska Airlines flight on Jan. 5. A door plug flew off during the flight out of Portland, Oregon, leaving a gaping hole in the left side of the plane and causing an emergency landing in which all passengers and crew made it safely. However, a few were injured, and some are suing Boeing for damages.
The FAA is in the process of auditing the 737 Max 9 production line, and Boeing launched an independent investigation into the aircraft.
Donald, who serves as chairman of the board for Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc., will provide his findings to Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun and the board of directors for the company’s Aerospace Safety Committee.
“Admiral Donald is a recognized leader in ensuring the integrity of some of the most complex and consequential safety and quality systems in the world,” Calhoun said in a press release on Tuesday.
“I’ve asked him to provide an independent and comprehensive assessment with actionable recommendations for strengthening our oversight of quality in our own factories and throughout our extended commercial airplane production system. He and his team will have any and all support he needs from me and from across The Boeing Company,” Calhoun said.
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Boeing’s problems were exacerbated on Saturday after a Japan All Nippon Airways flight was forced to turn back to its departure airport after a crack was discovered in a cockpit window of the Boeing 737 aircraft, although this plane was not one of Boeing’s 737 Max 9s.
Shares of Boeing fell about 8% Monday, as China Southern Airlines might be pushing to delay deliveries of its Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets for further inspection, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.