Boeing whistleblower says company cut corners in building 787 Dreamliner

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - Boeing took a lot of heat on Capitol Hill in a pair of Senate hearings Wednesday. The aircraft manufacturer is under scrutiny after whistleblowers made allegations of major safety failures with the company’s planes.

The Senate Homeland Security Investigations Subcommittee said the allegations against Boeing are “serious and shocking.”

An engineer-turned-whistleblower has accused the company of taking shortcuts in the making of its 777 and 787 Dreamliner jets. Sam Salehpour claimed crews, who have been building these planes since 2011, have failed to properly assemble separate parts. And as a result, he says the jets are vulnerable to breaking apart. Salehpour said he told his superiors but was threatened, transferred and silenced in retaliation.

Boeing has been doing damage control since a door-plug blew off an Alaska Airlines plane in January.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) asked Salehpour if the planes are safe. Salehpour shook his head no and responded, “Right now, it’s like an earthquake.” He added, “Let’s say, if you’re talking about a building, have to be prepared to accommodate that type of let’s say shakeup. It has to be built properly. Right now, from what I’ve seen, the airplanes are not being built per spec and per requirement.”

In a statement on the 787, Boeing said, “In 13 years of service, the global 787 fleet has safely transported more than 850 million passengers on more than 4.2 million flights. A 787 can safely operate for at least 30 years before needing expanded airframe maintenance routines. Extensive and rigorous testing of the fuselage and heavy maintenance checks of nearly 700 in-service airplanes to date have found zero evidence of airframe fatigue. 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. We are fully confident in the safety and durability of the 787 Dreamliner.”

The FAA is investigating the matter. In a separate hearing with the Senate Commerce Committee, an expert panel described Boeing having a “broken safety culture.”

Regarding the company’s culture, Boeing said, “We take the FAA review panel’s detailed assessment to heart and will act on their findings and feedback. Since 2020, Boeing has taken important steps to foster a safety culture that empowers and encourages all employees to raise their voice. We know we have more work to do and we are taking action across our company. Since January 2024, there has been a more than 500% increase in employee reports through our “Speak Up” portal compared to 2023, which signals progress toward a robust reporting culture that is not fearful of retaliation. More than 40,000 employees have participated in ‘quality stand downs’ at more than a dozen Boeing sites, providing tens of thousands of ideas for improving our production system and culture. We continue to put safety and quality above all else and share information transparently with our regulator, customers and other stakeholders.”

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