(Photo Credit: Pool New/Reuters)

Boeing CEO resigns amidst the company’s 737 Max plane controversy

Dennis A. Muilenburg, the Chief Executive Officer of Boeing, has resigned a little more than a year after two deadly crashes and the ongoing controversy surrounding the company's 737 Max planes.

“[Boeing’s] Board of Directors decided that a change in leadership was necessary to restore confidence in the Company moving forward as it works to repair relationships with regulators, customers, and all other stakeholders,” Boeing said in a press release. While the press release claims Muilenburg resigned, multiple news outlets, including The New York Times, have reported that he was fired.

Two Boeing 737 Max planes crashed in a span of five months, one in October 2018 and one in March 2019. Both crashes “were related to a piece of anti-stall software that Boeing had covertly installed on the planes,” according to technology news site The Verge.

“Boeing did not properly disclose the software to customers or pilots in an effort to reduce the amount of money and time required for re-training, all as the company tried to keep up with a new aircraft from rival Airbus,” The Verge reported. “The 737 Max has been grounded worldwide since the March crash, and Boeing announced last week that it is indefinitely halting production of the aircraft starting in January.”

A total of 346 people were killed in the two crashes. In the press release announcing Muilenberg’s ouster, Boeing said it “will operate with a renewed commitment to full transparency, including effective and proactive communication with the FAA, other global regulators and its customers.”