The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating a claim by a Boeing engineer. He filed a complaint against the company for dismissing his claims about safety and compliance with standards in the production of the 787 and 777 aircraft models.
Source. It was reported by Reuters.
Boeing engineer Sam Salehpour discovered technical problems affecting the structural integrity of the aircraft. According to his lawyers, Boeing used shortcuts to eliminate bottlenecks in the 787 assembly process.
"Instead of heeding his warnings, Boeing prioritised getting the aircraft to market as quickly as possible, despite the known, well-founded concerns he raised," the lawyers said.
According to the newspaper, an FAA representative met with the whistleblower.
Boeing representatives say that the company is fully confident in the safety of its aircraft models, and the claims "are inaccurate and do not reflect the comprehensive work done by Boeing to ensure the quality and long-term safety of the aircraft."
In February 2021, Boeing advised airlines to temporarily suspend the operation of 777s powered by Pratt & Whitney PW4000-112 engines. The reason was an incident with an airliner in the United States. A passenger Boeing 777 lost its right engine cowling after departing from the US city of Denver, with debris falling into residential areas and the engine catching fire. The aircraft was carrying 231 passengers and 10 crew members. The aircraft managed to land safely, and no one was injured.
In 2019, the EU suspended flights of another Boeing model, the 737 MAX. This happened after a Boeing 737 MAX aircraft of Ethiopian Airlines crashed in March 2019 with 157 people on board.
In January 2024, the Boeing 737 MAX 9 was suspended in the United States, Europe and Turkey. This happened after the doors of the aircraft of this model were torn off during the flight.
Background. Boeing recently suffered another breakdown: passengers filmed the engine cowl falling off during take-off.