CHICAGO (AP) – The Boeing engineer who has played a key role in the company’s response to the grounding of the 737 Max is retiring.
Boeing says John Hamilton planned to retire last year but stayed on to help get the Max back into service.
In October, he appeared before Congress alongside CEO Dennis Muilenburg to defend and explain the design and production of the Max, which has been grounded since March following two deadly crashes.
Hamilton acknowledged Boeing made some mistakes. Those included not having tested whether a faulty sensor could trigger the plane’s anti-stall system, which investigators believe happened in both crashes, pushing down the noses of the planes.
At other times he defended Boeing’s safety culture. While a couple of lawmakers expressed frustration with Hamilton’s answers, they reserved most of their anger for Muilenburg.
Hamilton will be replaced by Lynne Hopper, vice president of engineering for Boeing’s commercial airplanes business.
