Boeing 'Putting Out Defective Airplanes’: Whistleblower Sam Salehpour Makes Big Claim

boeing ‘putting out defective airplanes’: whistleblower sam salehpour makes big claim

As Boeing faces scrutiny in Senate hearings over allegations of safety and quality lapse of its aircraft, one of the key whistleblowers in the case, Boeing insider engineer-turned-whistleblower Sam Salehpour said at the hearing Wednesday that the company is manufacturing ‘defective’ aircrafts.

“I have serious concerns about the safety of the 787 and 777 aircraft and I’m willing to take on professional risk to talk about them,” he said in his opening statement, alleging he was ‘ignored’ when he raised those concerns internally. “I was told not to create delays. I was told, frankly, to shut up,” he said.

He reiterated his allegations before the Senate panel, saying that Boeing moved wide-body aircrafts through the production line despite flaws, in order to cut costs. He alleged that in Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner models, the company hasn’t adequately shimmed the gaps at the meeting point of the fuselage.

Boeing has defended the quality of its aircrafts, dismissing Salehpour’s allegations that the alleged defects can “ultimately cause a premature fatigue failure without any warning.” The company gave reporters a briefing about what it described as exhaustive fatigue testing on the 787 and 777 aircraft, saying it did not find safety risks.

“Under FAA oversight, we have painstakingly inspected and reworked airplanes and improved production quality to meet exacting standards that are measured in the one hundredths of an inch,” the company said while releasing the report.

“We are fully confident in the safety and durability of the 787 Dreamliner. We are fully confident in the safety of the 777, which remains the most successful widebody airplane family in aviation history.”

Salehpour’s allegations at the hearing came in the backdrop of a crisis at Boeing, caused by a midair door blowout on a Boeing 737 Max 9 plane during an Alaska Airlines flight in January.