Another whistleblower has come forward, accusing the airline Boeing of taking shortcuts in the construction of the 777 and 787 Dreamliner jets and of retaliating against him when he raised his concerns with management.
Sam Salehpour’s allegations come just a month after the mysterious suicide of Boeing whistleblower John Barnett, a longtime employee who made similar claims, including that of retaliation in a still-unresolved lawsuit.
Salehpour will now take part in a government hearing into Boeing’s record, amid numerous public near-disasters this year. The company’s outgoing CEO, David Calhoun, has also been summoned to appear before the panel on April 17. It has not yet been confirmed whether he will actually appear.
Salehpour is expected to detail safety issues related to the production and assembly of the 787 Dreamliner.
The subcommittee said in a letter that these problems could cause “potentially catastrophic safety risks.”
On Tuesday, Salehpour said during a conference call involving his lawyers that he “literally saw people jumping on the parts of the plane trying to get them to line up,” reports CNN. These observations were made in 2021.
“Rather than heed his warnings, Boeing preferred to rush the planes to market despite the well-known, well-researched issues he raised,” attorneys Debra Katz and Lisa Banks said in a statement on Tuesday.
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The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) said Salehpour is a member and works at the Boeing plant in Everett, Washington. The engineers union said it could not comment on Salehpour’s specific concerns.
A Boeing spokesperson said the company is cooperating with the subcommittee’s investigation and “has offered to provide documents, testimony and technical briefings.”
The Federal Aviation Administration has also been investigating Salehpour’s allegations since February, according to the subcommittee. The FAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Salehpour, whose concerns were addressed in a Article from the New York Times Tuesday is also expected to detail the retaliation he faced after raising his concerns.
According to that account, Salehpour was working on the 787 but became concerned about changes in the assembly of the fuselage, the main body of the aircraft.
That process involves assembling and attaching giant sections of the fuselage, each produced by a different company, according to Salehpour’s report.
Salehpour told the Times he believed Boeing took shortcuts that led to excessive force in the assembly process, causing deformations in the composite material used in the plane’s outer skin.
Original whistleblower John Barnett had claimed that second-rate parts were literally pulled from scrap bins before being fitted to aircraft built to avoid delays
An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-9 Max flies over the Boeing production facility in Everett, where Salehpour worked
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Such composites often consist of plastic layers reinforced by a carbon or glass fiber mesh, which increases tensile strength and makes them a useful alternative to heavier metals.
But composites can lose these benefits if they are twisted or otherwise deformed. Salehpour claimed that such problems could lead to increased material fatigue, potentially leading to premature failure of the composite, according to the Times report.
During thousands of flights, those parts of the fuselage can fall apart in flight.
According to Salehpour’s account, Boeing not only failed to take his concerns seriously, but also silenced him and transferred him to another jet, a move he made in retaliation.
In a 1,500-word statement, Boeing said it had “complete confidence” in the 787 and called concerns about its structural integrity “inaccurate.”
Boeing added that the issues raised in the Times story “do not pose any safety concerns” and said the 787 “will maintain its service life for decades.”
“Retaliation is strictly prohibited at Boeing,” the company added in the statement, noting that it encourages employees to “make their voices heard when issues arise.”
Boeing’s safety record has been under scrutiny since a door panel on a 737 Max 9 plane exploded over Oregon in early January.
Boeing had such a ‘cozy’ relationship with the Federal Aviation Administration that it was able to deflect any criticism, it is claimed
The panel freed up space for an additional emergency door on the plane, which was operated by Alaska Airlines. Pilots were able to land safely and no injuries were reported.
But the subsequent discovery by accident investigators of missing bolts intended to secure the panel rocked Boeing, which once had an enviable safety culture.
Alaska Airlines and United Airlines – the two US airlines that fly the Max 9 – also reported finding loose bolts and other hardware in other panels, indicating that quality problems with the door plugs were not limited to one aircraft.
Both the 787 and 737 Max were plagued by production defects that sporadically held up deliveries and left airlines without planes during peak travel seasons.
Calhoun, the CEO, announced in March that he will retire at the end of this year. That followed the departure of another high-ranking Boeing executive and the decision of Boeing’s chairman not to seek re-election in May.
“Voluntary reporting without fear of retaliation is a critical part of aviation safety,” the FAA said. “We strongly encourage everyone in the aviation industry to share information. We investigate all reports thoroughly.’
An agency source said the FAA has met with the whistleblower.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s office said its investigative subcommittee will hold a hearing on Boeing issues with Salehpour on April 17, titled “Investigating Boeing’s Broken Safety Culture: First-Hand Stories.”
Blumenthal added that he wants Calhoun, who said last month he will resign by the end of the year, to testify at a future hearing. According to a March 19 letter, the panel had initially tried to have Calhoun testify at next week’s hearing.
“We want to provide Boeing with the opportunity to explain to the American people why the public should have confidence in Boeing’s engineering and assembly processes in light of recent apparent safety failures,” said Blumenthal and Senator Ron Johnson, the top Republican on the panel. wrote.
Boeing has offered to provide documents, testimony and technical briefings to the Senate subcommittee, the company said in an emailed statement to Reuters on Tuesday.
In addition, the US Department of Justice is investigating whether Boeing violated a 2021 settlement that protected the American aircraft manufacturer from prosecution after two fatal MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019.
That January 2021 agreement, known as a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA), gave the plane maker an opportunity to avoid prosecution on charges of conspiracy to defraud the FAA.
In determining whether Boeing violated the settlement, prosecutors are expected to rely heavily on findings from the FAA investigation, a person familiar with the matter previously told Reuters.
The FAA in August 2022 approved the first Boeing 787 Dreamliner for delivery since 2021 after the manufacturer made inspection and retrofit changes necessary to meet certification standards.
There are currently about 1,100 Dreamliners in service, Boeing said.