Elizabeth Lund, the person responsible for quality control in Boeing’s commercial airplanes division, has announced her plans to retire in December. Lund, who has been an integral part of Boeing for 33 years, was appointed as the senior vice president of quality for commercial airplanes in February, amidst the company’s crisis following a mid-air panel burst on a new Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 on January 5.

Earlier this year, Boeing was found guilty by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) for breaking investigation rules when Lund disclosed confidential information to the press and speculated on the potential causes of the panel burst. Consequently, Boeing was prohibited from receiving data generated during the investigation.

In response to the crisis, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) took the unusual action of halting Boeing’s expansion of the 737 MAX production until significant improvements in quality were demonstrated. Boeing has since submitted a quality improvement plan to the FAA in May and is currently awaiting approval to resume 737 MAX production.

Doug Ackerman, who has experience in Supply Chain and Fabrication Quality and was involved in the quality improvement plan, will succeed Lund after her retirement.

Recently, the FAA initiated a new safety review of Boeing, focusing on matters such as risk-assessment quality, resource allocation, and adherence to regulatory requirements. This review is projected to last three months. Furthermore, the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General criticized the FAA’s supervision of Boeing last month, pointing out the absence of an effective system to monitor Boeing’s individual manufacturing facilities.

A February audit by the FAA found 97 instances of noncompliance in Boeing, focusing on areas related to manufacturing process control, parts handling and storage, and product control. FAA chief Mike Whitaker has suggested that the implementation of the safety changes in Boeing’s culture might take between three to five years. He also admitted that the FAA’s oversight of Boeing prior to January was lax.

Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg and Whitaker have recently discussed Boeing’s plans to restart 737 MAX production following a 53-day strike. Lund also mentioned during an NTSB hearing in August that the company was planning to introduce design modifications within the year to prevent a similar incident in the future.