Boeing’s safety culture was spotlighted at twin Senate hearings amid whistleblower reports
Boeing was back in the spotlight on Wednesday as the topic of two Senate hearings focused on the plane maker’s alleged safety failures.
The first hearing before the US Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee revolved around one issue report issued in February by a group of industry and government experts that a “disconnect” between management and workers contributes to a poor safety culture – and makes it difficult for employees to raise issues than.
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This control panel was put into operation after two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 killed a total of 346 people. Both accidents were related to aircraft design errors. The panel specifically focused on a program known as organizational designation authorization, under which the Federal Aviation Administration assigns some responsibility for testing and approving aspects of new airplanes to Boeing employees.
That panel’s report was released amid renewed focus on Boeing after a January incident that left part of the plane’s fuselage unsecured fell from an Alaska Airlines plane during a flight. No one was injured in the episode.
Related: Things to know about the Boeing 737 MAX 9 and the MAX series
Although the Alaska Airlines incident was not part of the panel’s report, it, along with a renewed focus on air travel safety among the broader public, has increased the report’s visibility. and Wednesday’s hearing.
“Commercial flying remains the safest way to travel,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, Republican from Texas and the committee’s ranking member. “But understandably, recent incidents have made the public nervous about flying. Things are getting worse.”
The second hearing featured testimony from Sam Salehpour, a Boeing employee and whistleblower who last week accused the company of taking shortcuts on the 787 and 777 production lines, which he alleged caused out potential structural flaws for both types of wide-body aircraft.
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Salehpour claims that Boeing used excessive force to join separate parts of the 787’s fuselage and failed to “mask” those parts, a process that adds filler material to small gaps to reduce movement. dynamic. That movement can cause more stress and fatigue to the composite materials used to make the fuselage, he said.
On the 777, Salehpour alleges that ill-fitting fuselage panels were delivered from a supplier and says factory workers jumped on fuselage pieces to jam them into place, likely causes them to deform. He claimed that he was transferred to the 777 program in retaliation after raising concerns about 787.
Related: Boeing defends wide-body aircraft production after whistleblower report
During the hearing, Salehpour claimed that Boeing was putting the public at risk and alleged that he had been harassed and punished by Boeing for raising concerns.
“I don’t want to see a 787 or 777 crash, and I’m willing to take the professional risk to talk about them,” Salehpour said.
“The reality is they are scrapping defective planes,” he added.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut and chairman of the subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that held the hearing, said he plans to hold additional hearing.
“Our goal is not to make Boeing fail, in fact the opposite,” he said. We want and need Boeing to succeed.” “We want Boeing to learn from its mistakes and take responsibility.”
Boeing has staunchly defended its Dreamliner production process and the 777 program in the week since Salehpour’s statement became public, using tactics and a tone that differed significantly from the conciliatory approach it had adopted. around narrow-body 737 issues.
Earlier this week, the company held an extraordinary press conference from Dreamliner assembly plant in North Charleston, South Carolinawhich details the specifics of how to assemble the 787 from a number of disassembled manufactured and delivered parts, such as the fuselage, wings, and tail section, as well as the structural testing process that each department must go through.
No Boeing representatives testified at Wednesday’s hearing. The company reiterated its defense of the body programs in emailed statements and said it was implementing recommendations made by the safety panel.
“Since 2020, Boeing has taken important steps to promote a culture of safety, empowerment, and encouragement for all employees to speak up,” Boeing said in a statement. “We know we have more work to do, and we’re taking action across the company.”
“Retaliation is strictly prohibited at Boeing,” the statement added.
Boeing said it had seen a 500% increase in volume through an internal reporting system for employees to raise issues since January, following a “decline in quality” the company experienced after Alaska Airlines crash.
