Boeing said on Friday that it was slowing production of its 737 Max jet and establishing a new internal safety committee after two of the planes were involved in fatal crashes in five months.

The company will reduce the rate at which it produces the 737 family of airplanes to 42 a month from 52, Boeing’s chief executive, Dennis A. Muilenburg, said in a statement. In addition to the Max, Boeing produces the 737 NG and a military version of the plane.

Boeing will also establish a committee on its board of directors to review how it develops and builds planes, Mr. Muilenburg said.

The company is making the moves as it confronts an escalating crisis after the crashes of two 737 Max planes: Lion Air Flight 610 in Indonesia in October and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 last month. The Max has been grounded, and Boeing paused deliveries of new planes, creating a backlog on its production lines in Renton, Wash. The company has been stockpiling finished planes in Renton and in nearby Seattle.