Boeing

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Boeing spent 2019 trying, to little avail, to recover from two disastrous crashes of its 737 MAX jet, which killed 346 people. Airlines canceled orders, Congressional committees called hearings, projected dates for the plane’s return to service kept getting pushed back, and the company lost $1 billion. The board lost patience with CEO Dennis Muilenberg and fired him at the end of the year. Board chairman David Calhoun took over as CEO in early January, just in time to face the coronavirus pandemic, which virtually halted travel worldwide and will be an even bigger challenge for Boeing long-term than the grounding of the 737 MAX.