Boeing informant fears “catastrophic accidents” with the Dreamliner

The engineer's allegations became public last week in a report published by The New York Times. Salehpour was scheduled to testify at a Senate Investigative Committee meeting on Wednesday (from 5:15 p.m. CET).

He accuses the American company of repeating its actions Serious warnings For safety and quality control when assembling the 777 and 787.

Boeing denied these allegations.

Security flaws in nearly 1,500 devices

According to a letter Salehpour's lawyers sent to the FAA in January, he cited “significant” safety deficiencies in about 1,500 planes. The engineer stated accordingly Shortened work processes During the assembly of the 787 Dreamliner, there would have been large gaps between the various parts of the aircraft.

These gaps can lead to premature material fatigue and “unsafe aircraft conditions with the potential for catastrophic accidents.”

According to the informant “Boeing engineers were pressured to close their eyes.”. The letter said that after his warnings about the 787 Dreamliner, Salehpour was punished by being transferred against his will from the department responsible for that model to the 777 program. Salehpour also discovered defects in the assembly of the 777 model.

Aviation authorities verify the information

The FAA announced last week that it was investigating the whistleblower's information “in depth.” “Right now I'm not doing that,” Salehpour said in an interview with NBC News when asked if he would put his family on a 787. Saleh Pour demanded that production of this machine be stopped as long as the company did not take action against the defects he identified.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, who was scheduled to chair Wednesday's session, described Salehpour's allegations as “extremely serious.” “If Boeing continues to ignore safety and quality issues.” He puts profits above everything else“This puts public safety at risk,” the Democratic lawmaker told Connecticut Public Radio.

Boeing: There is no “financial fatigue”

In addition to Saleh Burr, two former Boeing and FAA engineers and a former pilot were scheduled to testify before the committee. But representatives of Boeing management were not on the witness list. But a company spokesman said that the company provided the committee with documents, data and technical briefings.

The aircraft manufacturer held a media meeting with two of its high-ranking engineers on Monday The claims regarding its Dreamliner models have been denied. Boeing has “confidence in the safety and longevity of the 787 and 777 aircraft.” Long-term tests between 2010 and 2015 showed “no physical fatigue.”

The company had already rejected allegations regarding the assembly of Dreamliner aircraft in a detailed statement last week. The company also denied punishing Salehpur.