WASHINGTON, June 5 (Reuters) - Outgoing Boeing

CEO Dave Calhoun will testify before a U.S. Senate panel on June

18 after a series of incidents raised concerns about safety and

quality, and led regulators to cap the planemaker's production

of its best-selling 737 MAX.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, who chairs the Permanent

Subcommittee on Investigations, said Calhoun would testify about

a series of issues.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in February barred

Boeing ( BA ) from boosting 737 MAX production after a door panel blew

out during a Jan. 5 flight on a 737 MAX 9 operated by Alaska

Airlines.

Blumenthal said after two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019

that killed 346 people, "Boeing ( BA ) made a promise to overhaul its

safety practices and culture. That promise proved empty, and the

American people deserve an explanation."

Calhoun has said he will leave by the end of the year as

part of a broader management shakeup, as Boeing ( BA ) faces multiple

government investigations and pressure from investors and

airlines to find a new CEO.

The longstanding Boeing ( BA ) board member and General Electric ( GE )

veteran took the helm of the company in 2020 after the

ousting of his scandal-tinged predecessor.

Contenders for the top job at Boeing ( BA ) include Spirit

AeroSystems ( SPR ) CEO Pat Shanahan and Boeing Commercial

Airplanes president Stephanie Pope, according to industry

sources.

Boeing ( BA ) said it welcomed the chance for Calhoun to discuss

its actions to strengthen safety and quality during his Senate

testimony.

During a hearing in April before Blumenthal's committee, a

Boeing ( BA ) engineer testified the company took dangerous

manufacturing shortcuts with certain planes and sidelined him

when he raised safety concerns, claims the company disputes.

Blumenthal said Calhoun's testimony was a necessary step to

meaningfully address Boeing's ( BA ) failures, regain public trust and

restore its central role in the American economy and national

defense.

Howard McKenzie, Boeing's ( BA ) chief engineer, will accompany

Calhoun, but not provide testimony, the committee said.

Late on Wednesday, the Senate Commerce Committee said FAA

Administrator Mike Whitaker would testify before the panel on

June 13 on the agency's oversight of Boeing ( BA ) and other airplane

manufacturers.

Whitaker in late February gave Boeing ( BA ) 90 days to develop a

comprehensive plan to address "systemic quality-control issues."

The U.S. Justice Department said last month Boeing ( BA ) had

breached its obligations in a 2021 agreement that shielded the

planemaker from criminal prosecution over the fatal 737 MAX

crashes. Boeing ( BA ) faces a criminal probe into the Alaska Airlines

incident as well.

Boeing ( BA ) has said it believes it has honored the terms of the

deferred prosecution agreement.