Boeing commercial airplanes quality chief to retire in December

Boeing's head of quality for commercial airplanes, Elizabeth Lund, who has spearheaded the planemaker's improvement plans, will retire in December, the company said on Monday. A 33-year veteran of Boeing, Lund had been named in February to the new position of senior vice president of quality for its commercial planes, after the crisis sparked by the Jan. 5 mid-air panel blowout of a new Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9. In June, the National Transportation Safety Board said Boeing violated investigation rules when Lund provided non-public information to media and speculated about possible causes of the blowout. The agency barred Boeing from receiving information produced during its probe.<br/>Federal Aviation Administration chief Mike Whitaker took the unprecedented step in January of preventing Boeing from expanding 737 MAX production until he is satisfied it has made significant quality improvements. Boeing has been implementing a quality plan it submitted to the FAA in May as it seeks approval to boost 737 MAX production.<br/>