Four whistleblowers warn of ‘serious safety problems’ on Boeing planes

Four whistleblowers, including current and former Boeing employees, testified Wednesday before a US Senate committee to prevent “serious problems” in the production of Boeing’s 737 MAX, 787 Dreamliner and 777 planes.

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“I’m not here because I want to be here. I am here because (…) I do not want to see the crash of a 787 or a 777,” declared Sam Salehpour, a quality engineer at Boeing for seventeen years, before the senators.

“I have serious concerns about the safety of the 787 and I am willing to take a professional risk in speaking out about it,” he said, saying he had also spotted problems on the 777.

“I was sidelined. I was told to shut up, I received physical threats,” continued the engineer. “If something happens to me, I am at peace, because I have the feeling that, by testifying openly, I will save many lives.”

It is a letter from his lawyers to several recipients, including the American Civil Aviation Regulatory Agency (FAA), which is at the origin of the senatorial investigation.

The almost two-hour hearing was the first in a series during which officials from Boeing and the FAA will be called to testify, said Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, chairman of the commission of inquiry, in the preamble. .

“There are more and more serious accusations that the safety culture at Boeing is broken and that its practices are unacceptable,” noted Mr. Blumenthal, specifying that he had received numerous testimonies in recent days.

Boeing again defended its planes Wednesday before the hearing, saying it was still “confident in the safety and durability of the 787 and 777.”

Two engineers notably denied during a briefing on Monday that some 1,400 Boeing planes had significant safety flaws.

Quartet

“Boeing understands the importance of the commission’s oversight responsibilities and we are cooperating with this investigation,” the group repeated for several days, saying it had “offered to provide documents, testimony and technical briefings.”

In addition to Mr. Salehpour, the commission of inquiry also heard Ed Pierson – a former Boeing manager notably on the 737 MAX program –, Joe Jacobsen – who worked 25 years at the FAA after eleven years at Boeing – and Shawn Pruchnicki —aviation safety specialist and former airline pilot.

“I did everything I could to tell the world that the MAX was still unsafe and to alert authorities to the dangers of Boeing production,” Pierson said. But “nothing changed after the two crashes.”

The 737 MAXs were grounded worldwide after the crash of two 737 MAX 8s in 2018 and 2019 (346 deaths), due to design defects.

“Unless action is taken and leaders are held accountable, every person boarding a Boeing is at risk,” according to Mr. Pierson, who said FAA oversight was “ineffective.” and responsive.

Boeing “must commit to real and profound improvements and we will hold them accountable at every stage,” the regulator said after the hearing in a press release. “We will continue our incisive supervision” of Boeing, he added.

Mr. Blumenthal had already called on the Justice Department to verify whether Boeing was honoring the agreement reached in 2021 to avoid a trial linked to the two accidents. The revelations during the hearing will undoubtedly further increase the pressure.

Following the alert launched by Mr. Salehpour, the FAA opened an investigation into these two models. According to her, all Dreamliners in operation “comply” with airworthiness directives (AD).

Now, three of the four commercial aircraft models currently manufactured by the American group are officially the subject of an investigation by the regulator.

It examines the family of the 737, Boeing’s flagship aircraft, after an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 lost a cap holder in flight on January 5.

On this subject, Mr. Pierson denounced a “criminal cover-up” when Boeing claims, according to the NTSB investigative authority, to have no documentation concerning the manipulations on the cap holder in its factory.

“This documentation exists, (…) I transmitted it myself to the FBI,” the federal police, “several months ago,” he said.

An FAA audit identified “non-compliance issues” at the manufacturer and its subcontractor Spirit AeroSystems.

The Alaska incident occurred in the wake of several production issues in 2023, involving the 737 MAX and the Dreamliner.