Boeing defends 787 Dreamliner safety after whistleblower alleged structural flaws

Boeing
on
Monday
defended
the
quality
and
safety
testing
on
its
787
Dreamliner
and
777
aircraft,
days
after
one
of
the
company’s
engineers
went
public
with
allegations
that
the
plane-maker
took “shortcuts”
to
speed
up
production
of
the
planes.

The
whistleblower,
Sam
Salehpour,
last
week
said
that
Boeing’s
787
assembly
put
excessive
stress
on
airplane
joints
that
could
reduce
some
of
the
planes’
lifespans.
Boeing
denied
the
allegations,
calling
them “inaccurate”
and
said
it
stood
by
the
planes’
safety.

Salehpour
is
scheduled
to
appear
along
with
another
whistleblower
who
worked
at
Boeing,
a
former
aviation
official
and
an
independent
safety
expert
at
a
Senate
hearing
on
Wednesday
about
aircraft
safety
called “Examining
Boeing’s
Broken
Safety
Culture:
Firsthand
Accounts.”

Salehpour’s
claims
come
as
Boeing
navigates
intense
scrutiny
after
a
door
plug
blew
out
of
a
737
Max
plane
in
January.
The
narrow-body
aircraft
is
Boeing’s
bestseller,
and
the
blowout
at
16,000
feet
put
passengers
inches
from
tragedy.
Since
the
accident
the
Federal
Aviation
Administration
has
blocked
Boeing
from
increasing
production
of
that
plane.

In
a
roughly
two-hour
presentation
with
reporters
on
Monday,
two
Boeing
engineering
managers
detailed
the
company’s
stress
and
safety
tests
for
the
787,
which
include
testing
the
plane
for 165,000
cycles,
each
meant
to
provide
an
equivalent
of
a
flight,
with
varying
conditions.
In
addition,
the
fuselage
skin
was
struck
by
a
300-pound
pendulum,
the
engineers
said.

Steve
Chisholm,
chief
engineer
for
Boeing’s
mechanical
and
structural
engineering,
said
Boeing
created
damage
to
fuselage
panels
in
intense
tests
that
were
repeated
more
times
than
what
aircraft
would
experience
in
service, “and
the
damage
didn’t
grow.”

Salehpour’s
allegations
relate
to
tiny
spaces
where
pieces
of
the
787’s
carbon
composite
fuselage
meet.
He
said
Boeing
used
force
to
join
the
pieces
together
and didn’t
properly measure
the
gaps.
He
and
his
lawyers
sent
a
letter
to
the
FAA
in
January
detailing
his
allegations,
and
the
agency
is
investigating.

The
whistleblower
said
on
a
call
with
reporters
last
week
that
he “literally
saw
people
jumping
on
the
pieces”
of
the
777 “to
get
them
to
align.”
Boeing
later
that
day
said
those
claims
are
inaccurate
and
that
it
is “fully
confident
in
the
safety
and
durability
of
the
777
family.”

Boeing
previously
suspended
deliveries
of
the
787
for
nearly
two
years
until
August
2022
because
of
incorrect
spacing
on
some
portions
of
the
fuselage
of
the
planes.

“These
claims
about
the
structural
integrity
of
the
787
are
inaccurate
and
do
not
represent
the
comprehensive
work
Boeing
has
done
to
ensure
the
quality
and
long-term
safety
of
the
aircraft,”
the
plane-maker
said
in
a
statement
in
response
to
the
claims. “The
issues
raised
have
been
subject
to
rigorous
engineering
examination
under
FAA
oversight.
This
analysis
has
validated
that
these
issues
do
not
present
any
safety
concerns
and
the
aircraft
will
maintain
its
service
life
over
several
decades.”

Salehpour’s
lawyers
also
allege
that
Boeing
retaliated
against
him
after
he
voiced
his
concerns
by
excluding
him
from
meetings
and
moving
him
off
of
the
787
program
and
onto
the
company’s
777
plan.

Boeing
last
week
declined
to
comment
on
those
specific
allegations,
citing
the
FAA’s
ongoing
whistleblower
investigation,
but
said, “Retaliation
is
strictly
prohibited
at
Boeing.”

The
company
is
scheduled
to
report
quarterly
results
on
April
24,
when
it
will
face
investor
questions
about
aircraft
safety,
production
rates
and
FAA
oversight.