The newest Boeing whistleblower, a former engineer, claims that the entire 787 fleet worldwide needs to be grounded due to serious quality control issues and that he faced retaliation from his former employer.
Sam Salehpour worked as a quality engineer at Boeing. testified This week, Salehpour testified before the U.S. Senate, revealing more cases of Boeing ignoring major quality control issues that he believes could cause the planes to fall apart during flight.
Earlier this week, Salehpour, who had a 17-year tenure at Boeing, told stated to NBC News that the entire fleet of 787 jets, totaling over 1,000 aircraft, should be grounded and checked for thousands of incorrectly fastened fuselage parts.
When asked about the potential outcome of a plane experiencing a fatigue failure of its fuselage while flying, Salehpour said, “The plane will fall apart at the joints.”
While testifying before the Senate, Salehpour said: “Boeing, in an effort to address production delays, encountered problems and used excessive force to put pieces together to hide existing gaps. However, these gaps were still present, which could lead to premature fatigue failure. Essentially, they are producing faulty airplanes.”
He stated that when he reported these issues, they were “not properly dealt with 98.7% of the time.”
During his testimony, Salehpour also brought up problems with misaligned parts during the manufacturing of the 777 line.
“Boeing’s manufacturing process involved using an excessive and unchecked amount of force to fix the misalignment, which ultimately weakens the aircraft in the long term,” he said. “I personally witnessed people applying excessive force, including jumping on the pieces of the airplane to align them. I refer to it as the Tarzan effect, among other inappropriate methods.”
Instead of acknowledging the critical safety issues he raised, Salehpour alleged that his Boeing superiors criticized and threatened him.
“I was pushed aside, told to keep quiet, and even received physical threats,” he claimed. He also mentioned that his boss said to him, “I would have harmed someone who said what you said.”
A statement from Boeing broadcast to NBC News stated, “We have full confidence in the 787 Dreamliner due to the extensive work done to ensure the quality and long-term safety of the aircraft. The claims about the structural integrity of the 787 are not accurate.” According to NBC, the company also denied any form of retaliation and highlighted its “Employees Speak Up” program, which encourages staff to report concerns.
Salehpour is not the first former Boeing employee to act as a whistleblower.
As The Dallas Express reported at the time, John Barnett, a former quality control manager at Boeing’s South Carolina plant, claimed that Boeing had been cutting corners on inspections for years in order to meet airplane delivery deadlines.
Barnett was in the midst of giving deposition testimony about his findings when he was discovered dead in his truck. Although authorities ruled it as a suicide, his colleagues at Boeing were unconvinced about Barnett taking his own life.
The Department of Transportation disputes that there is a safety crisis in the nation’s air travel. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has touted the general safety of American air travel compared to the rest of the world.
However, DX found that the National Transportation Safety Board has initiated more inquiries into aviation incidents involving Boeing planes in 2023 than it has since 2000. The reasons for this may involve a change in culture at Boeing, moving away from hiring based on engineering skills and towards prioritizing MBAs and JDs focused on maximizing profits and promoting DEI principles, as reported by DX.
