'Much to be done': Boeing names Ortberg as new chief

Boeing has named the aerospace industry veteran Robert "Kelly" Ortberg as its new president and chief executive as the struggling planemaker fights to repair its reputation and shore up its business.

- Callum Jones

A terrifying cabin panel blowout in January sparked the company's biggest safety crisis since two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019, which together killed 346 people.

Boeing, which also posted a $1.4bn (£1.1bn) loss for the second quarter yesterday, has spent months scrambling to reassure regulators, airlines and passengers.

Ortberg, 64, led the aerospace supplier Rockwell Collins before it became part of the aerospace and defence giant RTX. He will start the job on 8 August, Boeing said, replacing Dave Calhoun, who announced in March that he would step down as chief executive.

Last month, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to a US criminal fraud charge stemming from the two crashes, after federal prosecutors found it in breach of a 2021 agreement which had protected the company from prosecution.