A Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner taxi at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington.
Stephen Brashear/Getty Images
hide caption
caption conversion
Stephen Brashear/Getty Images
A Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner taxi at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington.
Stephen Brashear/Getty Images
WASHINGTON – Federal regulators are investigating whistleblower claims about flaws in the assembly of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
Longtime Boeing engineer Sam Salehpour announced Tuesday that he had observed problems with the way fuselage parts were fastened together. Salehpour warns that manufacturing “shortcuts” can significantly shorten the life of an aircraft, eventually causing the fuselage to break apart in flight.
“If left unchecked, this could lead to catastrophic failure,” Salehpour said Tuesday during a press conference to discuss his statement.
A spokesperson for the FAA confirmed that the agency is investigating those allegations, first reported by the New York Times, but declined to comment further on them.
Boeing immediately pushed back.
“These claims about the structural integrity of the 787 are inaccurate and do not represent the comprehensive work Boeing has done to ensure quality and safety,” Boeing spokeswoman Jessica Kowal said in a statement. the long-term safety of the aircraft”. “We have complete confidence in the 787 Dreamliner.”
The latest whistleblower allegations come at Boeing’s difficult times. The company was plunged into crisis in January when a door latch blew up a 737 Max jet in mid-air, raising troubling questions about quality and safety at the company. Last month, CEO Dave Calhoun announced it he will step down at the end of the year.
The concerns Salehpour raised with the 787 Dreamliner appear to be similar to those that caused the FAA to pause deliveries of the plane in 2021, when Regulators found manufacturing flaws including unacceptable gaps between fuselage panels.
The FAA later approved Boeing’s plan to revise its production and quality control processes, paving the way for the plane maker to resume deliveries of 787 aircraft next year.
But Salehpour and his lawyers say Boeing never adequately addressed those concerns. Instead, he said the company took a “shortcut” by using greater force to fit the fuselage sections together.
“Boeing concealed the problem by forcefully pushing the pieces together to make it appear that the gap did not exist,” Salehpour told reporters during a news conference Tuesday.
Salehpour said he repeatedly raised these concerns with management, but instead of addressing them, they transferred him to work on another plane, a 777, where he alleges he encountered Must have the same problems.
“I actually saw people jumping on pieces of the plane to get them aligned,” he said. “That’s not how you build an airplane.”
Boeing said it has conducted extensive testing and these issues “will not change or affect the expected life of the 787 fuselage.”
“The issues raised have been subject to rigorous technical examination under the supervision of the FAA. This analysis has confirmed that these issues do not pose any safety concerns and The aircraft will maintain its service life for several decades.”
The 787 is built with lighter-weight composite materials, helping the plane deliver higher fuel efficiency than the old 767 and 777. But the Dreamliner deployment has been Have trouble from start.
This is not the first time Boeing whistleblowers have raised concerns about the 787.
John Barnett, Boeing’s former quality control chief, went public with a series of problems he said he identified at the South Carolina factory where he helped test the Dreamliner.
Barnett was found dead in his truck were self-inflicted gunshot wounds in March. Police in Charleston, SC, are investigating. He was in the process of testifying in a hearing related to his wrongful termination lawsuit against the company.
According to his lawyers, Salehpour faced retaliation from Boeing after raising concerns internally.
“He raised his hand over and over again,” said attorney Debra Katz. “He was threatened with physical violence. He was threatened with dismissal. He was kicked off the 787. He was punished multiple times.”
In its statement, Boeing said all employees are encouraged to “speak up when issues arise” and that “retaliation is strictly prohibited at Boeing.”
Salehpour is expected to testify on Capitol Hill next week. The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs’ Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will hold a hearing on April 17 titled “Examining Boeing’s Breached Safety Culture : Live account”.
“I do this not because I want Boeing to fail but because I want it to succeed and prevent accidents from happening,” Salehpour told reporters.
