Boeing's ousted CEO departs with $62 million, even without severance pay

Boeing Co's ousted chief executive officer Dennis Muilenburg is leaving the company with $62 million in compensation and pension benefits but will receive no severance pay in the wake of the 737 MAX crisis.

Muilenburg was fired from the job in December as Boeing failed to contain the fallout from a pair of fatal crashes that halted output of the company's bestselling 737 MAX jetliner and tarnished its reputation with airlines and regulators.

The compensation figures were disclosed in a regulatory filing late on Friday during a difficult week for Boeing when it also released hundreds of internal messages -- 2 major issues hanging over the company before new CEO David Calhoun starts on Monday.

The messages contained harshly critical comments about the development of the 737 MAX, including one that said the plane was "designed by clowns who in turn are supervised by monkeys."

The 737 MAX has been grounded since March following the second of 2 crashes that together killed 346 people within a span of 5 months.

Lawmakers blasted Boeing on Friday.

"346 people died. And yet, Dennis Muilenburg pressured regulators and put profits ahead of the safety of passengers, pilots, and flight attendants. He'll walk away with an additional $62.2 million. This is corruption, plain and simple," US Senator Elizabeth Warren said on Twitter.

US Rep. Peter DeFazio, who chairs the House Transportation Committee, said minutes of a June 2013 meeting showed that Boeing sought to avoid expensive training and simulator requirements by misleading regulators about an anti-stall system called MCAS that was later tied to the 2 crashes that killed 346 people.

The MAX has been grounded since the second crash in March.

Speculation that Muilenburg would be fired had been circulating in the industry for months, intensifying in October when the board stripped him of his chairman's title - although he had also twice won expressions of confidence from Calhoun, Boeing's board chairman.

A turnaround veteran and former General Electric Co executive who has led several companies in crisis, Calhoun will receive a base salary at an annual rate of $1.4 million and is eligible for $26.5 million in long-term incentive compensation, Boeing said in a filing.

Boeing said in November Muilenburg had volunteered to give up his 2019 bonus and stock awards. For 2018, his bonus and equity awards amounted to some $20 million, according to filings.

In addition to the $62 million in compensation and pension benefits, Muilenburg holds stock options that vested in 2013, Boeing said. They would be worth $18.5 million at the closing price on Friday.

"Upon his departure, Dennis received the benefits to which he was contractually entitled and he did not receive any severance pay or a 2019 annual bonus," Boeing said in a statement.

source: news.abs-cbn

EU suspends Boeing 737 MAX flights, US senators suggest similar move

ADDIS ABABA/PARIS - The European Union's aviation safety regulator on Tuesday suspended all flights in the bloc by Boeing 737 MAX and the US Senator who chairs a panel overseeing aviation suggested the United States take similar action following a crash in Ethiopia that killed 157 people.

Britain, Germany, and France joined a wave of suspensions of the aircraft in the wake of Sunday's crash, and was swiftly followed by a similar decision by India, piling pressure on the United States to follow suit.

Boeing, the world's biggest planemaker, which has seen billions of dollars wiped off its market value after the crash, said it understood the countries' actions but retained "full confidence" in the 737 MAX and had safety as its priority.

It also said the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) had not demanded any further action related to 737 MAX operations.

The cause of the crash, which followed another disaster with a 737 MAX 5 months ago in Indonesia that killed 189 people, remains unknown.

There is no evidence yet whether the 2 crashes are linked. Plane experts say it is too early to speculate on the reason for the crash. Most are caused by a unique chain of human and technical factors.

In an unusual move, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said it was suspending all flights in the bloc of Boeing's 737 MAX 8 and 9 jets.

"Based on all available information, EASA considers that further actions may be necessary to ensure the continued airworthiness of the 2 affected models," it said in a statement.

However, it shied away from the even rarer step of pulling the safety certification for the plane itself, focusing instead on the softer process of restricting its use by airlines. The move leaves some leeway for the US FAA to decide its own approach.

Flight ET 302 came down in a field soon after takeoff from Addis Ababa, creating a fireball in a crater. It may take weeks or months to identify all the victims, who include a prize-winning author, a soccer official, and a team of humanitarian workers.

Boeing shares fell 6.1 percent on Tuesday bringing losses to 11.15 percent since the crash, the steepest 2-day loss for the stock since July 2009. The drop has lopped $26.65 billion off Boeing's market value.

SENATE HEARING

The United States has said it remains safe to fly the planes but US Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican who chairs the Senate subcommittee on aviation and space, said on Tuesday it would be "prudent" for the United States "to temporarily ground 737 Max aircraft until the FAA confirms the safety of these aircraft and their passengers."

Cruz said he intends to convene a hearing to investigate the crashes.

Two other senators, Republican Mitt Romney and Democrat Elizabeth Warren, called on the FAA to temporarily ground the 737 MAX.

President Donald Trump also fretted over modern airplane design.

"Pilots are no longer needed, but rather computer scientists from MIT," Trump tweeted, lamenting that product developers always sought to go an unnecessary step further when "old and simpler" was superior.

"I don't know about you, but I don't want Albert Einstein to be my pilot. I want great flying professionals that are allowed to easily and quickly take control of a plane!" he added.

He did not refer to Boeing or recent accidents, but his comments echoed an automation debate that partially lies at the center of a probe into October's Lion Air crash in Indonesia.

Investigators are examining the role of a software system designed to push the plane down, alongside airline training and repair standards.

Boeing says it plans to update the software in coming weeks.

Trump, concerned about the Ethiopia crash, spoke to Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg on Tuesday and received assurances that the aircraft was safe, 2 people briefed on the call said.

China, Indonesia, Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, and others have also temporarily suspended the 737 MAX.

The decision by some countries to ban not only arrivals and departures but flights crossing through their airspace surprised some regulatory sources even in regions banning the plane, since overflights are usually protected by international law.

VICTIMS FROM 30 NATIONS

Given problems of identification at the charred disaster site, Ethiopian Airlines said it would take at least 5 days to start handing remains to families.

The victims came from more than 30 different nations, and included nearly 2 dozen UN staff.

"We are Muslim and have to bury our deceased immediately," Noordin Mohamed, a 27-year-old Kenyan businessman whose brother and mother died, told Reuters.

"Losing a brother and mother in the same day and not having their bodies to bury is very painful," he said in the Kenyan capital Nairobi where the plane had been due.

Anxiety was also evident among some travelers, who rushed to find out from social media and travel agents whether they were booked to fly on 737 MAX planes.

If the black box recordings found at the Ethiopian crash site are undamaged, the cause of the crash could be identified quickly, although it typically takes a year for a full probe.

The new variant of the 737, the world's most-sold modern passenger aircraft, is viewed as the likely workhorse for global airlines for decades and 4,661 more are on order.

Over 40 percent of the MAX fleet has been grounded, Flightglobal said, though many airlines still use older jets.

Still, major customers including top airlines from North America kept flying the 737 MAX. Southwest Airlines Co, which operates the largest fleet of 737 MAX 8s, said it remained confident in the safety of all its Boeing planes.

Former FAA accident investigator Mike Daniel said the decision by regulators to ground the planes was premature. 

"To me it's almost surreal how quickly some of the regulators are just grounding the aircraft without any factual information yet as a result of the investigation," he told Reuters.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Air China incident linked to co-pilot smoking e-cigarette - state media

SHANGHAI - An emergency descent by an Air China aircraft after oxygen levels dropped in the cabin has been linked to a co-pilot who was smoking an e-cigarette during the flight, state media said on Friday, citing China's aviation regulator.

"In the preliminary investigation, the co-pilot was found to be smoking an e-cigarette," state-owned China News said in a report, citing a news conference by the Civil Aviation Administration of China investigating Tuesday's incident.

"Smoke diffused into the passenger cabin and relevant air conditioning components were wrongly shut off, without notifying the captain, which resulted in insufficient oxygen," it added.

The Air China Boeing 737 aircraft was flying to the Chinese city of Dalian from Hong Kong, when it made an emergency descent to 10,000 feet (3,048 m), during which oxygen masks were deployed, before climbing again to continue on to its destination. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Australia 'disrupts terror plot' to bring down airplane

SYDNEY - Australian authorities said Sunday they had stopped an allegedly Islamist-inspired "terrorist plot" to bring down an airplane with an improvised explosive, after four people were arrested in raids in Sydney.

"I can report last night that there has been a major joint counter-terrorism operation to disrupt a terrorist plot to bring down an airplane," Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told reporters.

Additional security has been put in place at all major domestic and international airports, with travellers told to arrive two hours early for screenings, he added.

Officials did not specify if the alleged plot targeted a domestic or international flight, but Sydney's Daily Telegraph reported that a local route had been the objective.

The four men, arrested in a series of raids across Sydney on Saturday, were allegedly linked to an "Islamic-inspired" plot, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin said.

"In recent days, law enforcement has been become aware of information that suggested some people in Sydney were planning to commit a terrorist attack using an IED (improvised explosive device)," he told reporters.

But he added that police did not yet have "a great deal of information on the specific attack, the location, date or time", with the investigation expected to be "very long and protracted".

Turnbull said the alleged plan appeared to be "more in that category of an elaborate plot" rather than designed by a lone wolf, but added that the national terror alert level would remain at probable.

Canberra lifted the alert level in September 2014 and introduced new national security laws amid rising concerns over attacks by individuals inspired by organisations such as Islamic State.

Counter-terrorism police have also made a string of arrests since late 2014 across the nation and say they have prevented 12 terror attacks on home soil, before the latest announcement, in the past few years.

But several attacks have taken place, including a cafe siege in 2014 where two hostages were killed and the murder of a Sydney police employee in 2015 by a 15-year-old boy.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Armed men hijack Libyan plane, surrender in Malta

Two men armed with a grenade and at least one gun hijacked a Libyan plane with 117 people on board Friday and diverted it to Malta before releasing everyone and surrendering, officials said.

The Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A320 was en route from Sabha in southern Libya to the capital Tripoli when it was taken over and forced to fly to Malta, sparking a four-hour runway standoff.

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said the pair, probably of Libyan nationality, had given up a grenade and a pistol when they were arrested and a second pistol was found on the plane.

Libyan Foreign Minister Taher Siala from Libya's fledgling national unity government said the two were supporters of slain dictator Moamer Kadhafi, whose death in 2011 has plunged Libya into chaos.

Siala said they wanted to set up a pro-Kadhafi political party and would ask for political asylum in Malta, although Muscat said they had not done so.

The plane landed at Malta International Airport at 11:34 am (1034 GMT), with 109 passengers, six crew and the two hijackers on board.

All flights in and out of the island were initially shut down while the Maltese military conducted negotiations.

It stood immobile for around an hour on a secondary runway surrounded by military vehicles, before a door opened and a first group of women and children were seen descending from a mobile staircase.

Dozens more passengers followed minutes later.

Muscat said the hijackers were told there would be no negotiations unless all passengers were released.

After the release of all passengers and two of the crew members, the hijackers were holding only the four remaining staff "for a period of time," he said.

Following further negotiations "the hijackers agreed to free the remaining members of the crew and to surrender," he continued, adding that "the hijackers did not make any requests".

Armed Maltese military personnel were later seen storming the plane.

All passengers and crew members would be interrogated before a charter flight takes them back to Libya, Muscat said.

Hijackings have become relatively rare since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States led to increased security on flights.

Other recent hijackings have been carried out by individuals for reasons ranging from personal to political, and almost all ended swiftly and safely.

In the most recent incident in March, a man hijacked an Egyptair flight from Alexandria to Cairo and forced it to land in Cyprus so he could see his ex-wife.

Seif al-Din Mohamed Mostafa was described as "psychologically unstable" and claimed to have explosives strapped to his waist, but gave himself up after releasing fellow travellers.

In February 2014, an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Rome with 202 people on board was diverted by its unarmed copilot to Geneva where he asked for asylum.

- Libyan planes banned in Europe -

During the crisis, Muscat spoke to Libya's prime minister-designate Fayez al-Sarraj, the head of the north African country's unity government.

Flights into Malta were diverted to different airports in Italy and outgoing ones were delayed.

Services later resumed after what Malta International Airport called "an unlawful interference".

Libya has been in a state of chaos since the 2011 overthrow of Moamer Kadhafi left warring militias battling for control of different parts of the country.

Forces loyal to a national unity government recently took control of the coastal city of Sirte, which had been a bastion for the Islamic State group since June 2015.

Western powers have pinned their hopes of containing jihadism in the energy-rich North African state on the government but it has failed to establish its authority over all of the country.

A rival authority rules the country's far east, backed by the forces under military strongman Marshal Khalifa Haftar who have been battling jihadists in second city Benghazi.

Only local airlines -- banned from European airspace -- operate in Libya, with flights to Tunis, Cairo, Amman, Istanbul and Khartoum.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Bolivian airline CEO to be jailed until soccer crash trial over

LA PAZ - The head of the Bolivian company whose plane crashed in Colombia last month, killing dozens of Brazilian soccer players, will be held on manslaughter and other charges until the investigation is complete, authorities said on Thursday.

Gustavo Vargas, chief executive of charter airline LaMia, who denies the charges against him, was brought in for initial questioning by Bolivian prosecutors on Tuesday.

After Vargas spent Wednesday in a hospital being treated for conditions including diabetes, a judge agreed with prosecutors that there was enough evidence to hold him until trial.

"The prosecution substantiated the charges and showed there was a risk that he might flee the country before trial," National Anti-Corruption Director Fanny Alfaro told reporters after a more than eight-hour court hearing in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz.

Vargas was defiant, telling reporters outside the courthouse: "The prosecutors are a bunch of liars."

The crash happened in Colombia late last month, killing 71 people after the plane apparently ran out of fuel.

The aircraft had been carrying Brazil's Chapacoense soccer team to a championship in the Colombian city Medellin.

Bolivian authorities last week suspended the license of LaMia, which was bringing the Chapecoense club to the finals of the Copa Sudamericana.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Coming soon: Star Wars-themed planes

MIAMI - All Nippon Airways Co. may fly at least two Star Wars-themed planes on international routes, instead of the previously announced one, ANA President Osamu Shinobe said Sunday.

A Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft painted like popular robot character R2-D2 and carrying the Star Wars logo will begin operating this fall. The possible additional Star Wars-themed plane may feature a character other than R2-D2, he said.

"The project has gained great feedback. We may increase the number of planes if it proves popular," Shinobe said in an interview with Kyodo News in Miami.

The ANA president also said among the candidate routes for the R2-D2 jet are ones linking Tokyo's Haneda airport and Jakarta, and Haneda and Munich, Germany.

ANA will fly the aircraft to start its five-year Star Wars project leading up to 2020.

The new movie, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, will be released in December.

==Kyodo

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