Two executives of AGCO Corp. died Jan. 4 aboard a private jet bound for the U.S. that crashed on takeoff at Birmingham International airport in central England.
John Shumejda, president and chief executive, and Ed Swingle, senior vice president of sales and marketing, were killed along with three pilots.
AGCO, based in Duluth, GA, said Robert Ratliff, executive chairman, will assume the additional responsibility of president and chief executive on an interim basis.
According to media reports, the plane clipped a wing on the ground during takeoff, flipped over and burst into flames. Shumejda and Swingle were returning from a one-day visit to an AGCO plant in Coventry, England, that makes Massey Ferguson tractors.