United's Ousted CEO Was in a Nose Dive Even Before the Corruption Probe

Even before a weekly flight from Newark to South Carolina came under scrutiny from U.S. prosecutors, United was a troubled airline.

Before his departure on Tuesday, United Chief Executive Jeff Smisek was struggling with the fallout from a poorly integrated merger, unhappy labor groups, and a series of high-profile technology glitches that grounded flights and outraged travelers. The latest computer problem popped up Tuesday afternoon—United’s newly redesigned website was out of commission for almost two hours—not long before United announced Smisek’s ouster from the top job. Two other senior executives also left the company as part of an investigation into United’s dealings with David Samson, the former chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.