Boeing whistleblowers face Senate subcommittee over safety concerns

Senators heard from aviation safety experts and Boeing employees during back-to-back hearings on Wednesday. The hearings focused on alleged safety issues with Boeing aircraft.

What were some of the concerns? Sam Salehpour, a quality control engineer at Boeing, told lawmakers that Boeing was manufacturing “defective airplanes.” He said employees began taking dangerous manufacturing shortcuts when the company fell behind in aircraft production. They included using excessive force to get aircraft components to fit together and even jumping up and down on pieces of the fuselage to get them to align, according to Salehpour. He said when he brought this to the attention of management, he was sidelined, told to “shut up,” and physically threatened.

What prompted the hearings? The hearings took place after two deadly crashes of Boeing 737 Max aircraft in 2018 and 2019. In January, a Boeing 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines had to make an emergency landing when a panel blew off the airframe mid-flight.

What has been Boeing’s response to the accusations? Boeing did not have a representative at the hearings but has denied the allegations. The Associated Press cites a spokesman who said the aircraft manufacturer prohibits retaliation against whistleblowers and encourages anyone with safety concerns to speak up. The company also denies Salehpour’s claims of having seen employees jumping on fuselage components to get them to align.

Dig deeper: Read Bob Brown’s review of the Netflix documentary Downfall: The Case Against Boeing in WORLD Magazine.