Boeing’s 777X and 737 Max chief engineer Teal to retire

Boeing 777X chief project engineer Michael Teal, who had been chief engineer of the 737 Max program, will retire from Boeing on 1 April.

Effectively immediately, David Loffing has succeeded Teal as 777X chief project engineer, Boeing says on 14 January.

Loffing had been chief project engineer for the 777 program.

“Michael Teal… has announced his long-standing plan to retire,” Boeing Commercial Airplanes chief engineer Howard McKenzie says in a 14 January email to Boeing employees.

“Michael has held engineering leadership roles across multiple programs, including vice-president and chief project engineer for the 777X, 747-8 Freighter and 737 family,” McKenzie adds.

Teal, a 35-year Boeing staffer, was chief project engineer for the 737 Max program during that aircraft’s certification.

In May 2020, following two 737 Max crashes, he testified to the US House of Representatives about the Max’s development and certification. Teal told lawmakers he had not been aware Boeing designed the 737 Max with only a single angle-of-attack (AOA) indicator or that the Max’s Manuevering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) could activate repeatedly.

Investigators attributed the two Max crashes to repeated activation of MCAS following AOA failures.

Teal joined Boeing as a structural engineer in 1986. “He leaves a legacy of technical excellence, and his influence on current and future products will be felt for years,” Boeing’s McKenzie says of Teal.

Loffing immediately takes Teal’s role as chief project engineer for the 777X. That program has faced multiple delays and heightened scrutiny from the Federal Aviation Administration. Boeing has said it will deliver the first 777X – a 777-9 variant – in late 2023.

Loffing joined Boeing in 2004 and has been chief 777 program engineer since June 2020, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Earlier, Loffing was 747 chief project engineer, engineering director of Boeing’s mid-market aircraft development office, engineering integration chief engineer for the 737 Max and program integration engineer for the 747-8.

Ben Linder, who had been director of engineering for the 777 and 777X, succeeds Loffing as 777 chief project engineer, also effective immediately, Boeing says. flightglobal.com