According to US sources on Tuesday, federal aviation authorities are looking into allegations made by a Boeing engineer that assembly flaws in the 787 Dreamliner pose a risk to public safety.
Sam Salehpour’s lawyers claim that the firm “involuntarily” moved him to the 777 program in order to punish him for raising concerns and for prioritizing profit over safety.
He brought up other concerns at the 777 program, and according to his lawyers, he was threatened with firing for doing so. After the allegations were reported in a New York Times piece detailing complaints from Salehpour, who has worked for Boeing for more than ten years, the Federal Aviation Administration verified the probe. “Rather than heeding his warnings, Boeing prioritized getting the planes to market as quickly as possible, despite the known, well-substantiated issues Mr. Salehpour raised,” said attorneys Debra Katz and Lisa Banks, who pointed to “critical defects” on nearly 1,500 Boeing planes. In a thorough defense of the aircraft, Boeing—which has been under fire due to recent safety issues—stated that it is “fully confident” in the Dreamliner and refuted claims that it retaliated against the worker.
A representative for Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal announced that a hearing titled “Examining Boeing’s Broken Safety Culture: Firsthand Accounts” has been planned by a Senate investigative committee for April 17.
“Voluntary reporting without fear of reprisal is a critical component in aviation safety,” the Federal Aviation Administration stated.
