Boeing Names Retired U.S. Navy Admiral, Kirkland H. Donald, as Special Advisor to Lead Quality Review

(Arlington, Virginia) Boeing (NYSE: BA) today named Admiral Kirkland H. Donald, U.S. Navy (Ret.) as special advisor to Boeing President and Chief Executive Officer Dave Calhoun; in his new role, Admiral Donald will lead a team of outside experts in conducting an assessment of Boeing’s quality management system for commercial airplanes.

Headshot of Boeing Special Advisor Admiral Kirland H. Donald, U.S. Navy (Ret.) courtesy of Wikipedia.

The quality management team’s review will include quality programs and practices in Boeing manufacturing facilities and Boeing’s oversight of commercial supplier quality. The recommendations from Donald and his team will be provided to Calhoun and to the Aerospace Safety Committee of Boeing’s Board of Directors, according to a press release from Boeing.

"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," said Calhoun.  "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.

Donald’s appointment was announced on January 15th, one day after Boeing said it would increase quality inspections on its Boeing 737 Max 9 planes, following the January 5th accident on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 in which a passenger door blew off the 737 Max 9 airliner mid-flight. The door plug that blew off the Alaska jet was installed by a supplier, Spirit Aerosystems (NYSE: SPR), and is being examined by the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the accident.

This past Friday, January 12th, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that it would audit the Boeing 737-9 MAX production line, after grounding approximately 171 Boeing 737 Max 9 planes subsequent to the January 5th accident.

Admiral Donald served as a nuclear trained submarine officer in the U.S. Navy for 37 years before serving for eight years as the Director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, where he ensured the safe and effective operation of all nuclear-powered warships and supporting infrastructure. A graduate from the United States naval Academy, Donald currently serves as Chairman of the Board for Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc., the largest military shipbuilding company in the United States; as Chairman of the Board of the nonprofit Battelle and as Chairman of the Nuclear Committee at Entergy Corporation.