The engineer, Sam Salehpour, claimed that in 2021, he witnessed Boeing taking shortcuts during the assembly process of the 787, resulting in excessive stress on critical joints and the presence of drilling debris between joints on over 1,000 planes. Salehpour asserted that these errors could shorten the plane's lifespan and might be challenging to detect.
Salehpour emphasized that his actions were not intended to harm Boeing but rather to ensure its success and prevent potential crashes. Boeing, however, refuted these claims, stating that the allegations were inaccurate and expressing confidence in the jets' safety. The company asserted that the 787s undergo thorough oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and that any issues raised had been appropriately addressed in the past.
The FAA, which received Salehpour's complaint in January, declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation. The complaint comes as Boeing faces increased scrutiny over its quality control and manufacturing operations following an incident involving an Alaska Airlines flight in January.
Boeing has faced challenges with the quality of its South Carolina-built 787 Dreamliner, which has been plagued by production and regulatory issues. While deliveries of the plane resumed in August 2022 after a two-year halt, they were briefly suspended again in February 2023 due to regulatory documentation problems.
The Dreamliner, introduced in 2011, features a carbon-composite frame that reduces fuel costs and a production process that involves outsourcing much of the work to suppliers globally. Salehpour, a quality engineer with four decades of aerospace engineering experience, alleged that Boeing failed to address small gaps in the plane's construction in 2021, which could lead to structural issues.
Salehpour's lawyers claimed that he was reassigned from the 787 program to the 777 program after raising concerns and was threatened with termination for flagging issues on the 777. They argued that these problems stemmed from Boeing's profit-driven decisions and the FAA's overly deferential approach to industry.
Boeing maintained that there were no safety concerns for planes currently in service and is working with the FAA to determine long-term inspection and maintenance needs. The company asserted that it prohibited retaliation against employees who report safety and quality issues and responded to concerns raised in 2021 and 2022 by slowing operations to ensure compliance with specifications.