Airbus said O'Keefe, who turns 58 later this month, is resigning to focus on his continuing recovery after a 2010 plane crash in Alaska that killed five people, including former U.S. Senator Ted Stevens.

O'Keefe, a former Navy Secretary, NASA administrator and Pentagon comptroller, had another operation on his back in recent weeks. He will remain on special assignment with the company.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)