Just hours after Trans World Airlines Inc. posted a $14.3 million quarterly loss tied to the July explosion of one of its jetliners, the company's chief executive called it quits.
Jeffrey H. Erickson, who had overseen a startling comeback of the once-bankrupt airline, plans to step down in January.His resignation was announced Thursday, shortly after TWA reported a huge earnings loss for the third quarter, which covered the July 17 crash of Flight 800.
"I have decided that it is time for me to move on," Erickson said in a statement. He made no mention of the crash or the financial results. A spokesman at TWA's St. Louis headquarters said he was out of town.
The move caught analysts by surprise.
"I don't know what their dissatisfaction is with Jeff," said Louis Marckesano, an airline industry analyst with Philadelphia money management firm Roffman Miller Associates.
"Obviously the company feels it has to restart and get going in a different direction," he said.
The crash of Flight 800 cast a long shadow over the airline. The Paris-bound plane blew up after takeoff from Kennedy Airport, killing all 230 aboard. Its cause remains under investigation.