Cessna boss retires after poor quarter marred previous 11-year success story

He left the company on Monday according to a news release from Cessna's parent company Textron.

"Under Jack's leadership, Cessna achieved many significant program and product milestones and strengthened its position as a thought leader in the aviation industry," Textron chairman and CEO Scott Donnelly said in the release. "We appreciate Jack's efforts and wish him the best in his future endeavors,".

Donnelly will be heading Cessna until Pelton's successor is selected.

Cessna has suffered during the recent global downturn with both the company's Citation jets and its light aircraft for the general aviation market seeing sales fall. .

According to the company's local paper, The Wichita Eagle, Cessna began to see late last year signs of an upturn in demand for new business jets, including fewer forfeited deposits. It spent more money in anticipation of the upturn, which led to rising costs and deepening losses for Cessna in the first quarter of 2011. Textron reported last month that Cessna lost $38 million in the first quarter, compared with a $24 million in the same quarter of 2010, even though sales were up nearly 30 percent.