Boeing’s Vice President is stepping down after 737 MAX investigations
After 18 years at the company, long-time employee Ed Clark was reportedly asked to step down from his position
Boeing has announced the departure of the Vice President of its 737 MAX programme, and General Manager of its Renton factory, Ed Clark. The shift comes as the US aircraft manufacturer faces pressure to regain trust after a series of quality control issues led to delayed aircraft deliveries and a door plug blow-out earlier this year.
Boeing revealed Clark’s departure in a company email sent to employees by Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) CEO Stan Deal. The email also announced the appointment of current Vice President of 737 delivery operations, Katie Ringgold, as Clark’s replacement.
Clark’s exit comes weeks after a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) preliminary report found that the 737 MAX 9 planes involved in the door plug blow-out incident during an Alaska Airlines flight was likely missing key bolts when it left the Renton factory in Washington, US.
Having worked with Boeing for almost two decades, Clark was first brought in to oversee the 737 MAX programme in 2021. The model returned to service upon Clark’s appointment, after two fatal accidents involving 737 MAXs in five months had previously led to the grounding of the entire worldwide fleet.
In addition to the change of leadership at the programme, in the email Deal also said Elizabeth Lund would be appointed to the newly created position of Senior Vice President for BCA Quality, with Mike Fleming stepping into her previous role as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Airplane Programmes.
Deal said he was announcing the changes “as we continue driving BCA’s enhanced focus on ensuring that every airplane we deliver meets or exceeds all quality and safety requirements. Our customers demand, and deserve, nothing less.”