A former quality auditor at Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems has filed a complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) alleging claimed that there had been “serious and gross misconduct by the senior quality management of the 737 production line”. Dean was fired by the company last year and an auditor filed a complaint with the Department of Labor alleging retaliation for raising safety concerns.
According to the Seattle Times, Dean was hospitalized after having trouble breathing. He developed pneumonia and a serious infection and died two weeks later.
Boeing is ignoring the problems, employees say
Dean was represented by the same law firm that represented another Boeing whistleblower, John Barnett. Barnett, 62, was found dead in March from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. He also drew attention to serious defects in production. He claimed management ignored his complaints and moved him to another part of the plant.
Last month, another Boeing whistleblower, Sam Salehpour, told the US Senate Homeland Security Committee that at Boeing “there is no culture of safety”. He claimed that the employees who raised the problem were “ignored, threatened, sidelined and worse”. He added that he was worried after his concerns were made public “physical violence”.
Salehpour said the American aircraft manufacturer would according to him, he should have taken all Dreamliner 787 machines out of service. According to him, they could fail prematurely because of the gaps between the individual parts of the hull.
Boeing 787 Dreamliner production in South Carolina (2017). | Edward Russell (CC BY 2.0)
US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating Salehpour’s claim that the plane maker sped up production of the 787 while ignoring safety and quality issues. For example, according to him, parts of the fuselage of the plane were not assembled correctly. According to Salehpour, there are also problems with the 777 model.
In January of this year, an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX part of the fuselage broke off in mid-air, prompting the FAA to respondl by prohibiting the company from increasing the production of these aircraft. The FAA also said it found numerous non-compliance issues in Boeing’s supply chain.
In 2018 and 2019, a total of 346 people died in two serious accidents involving Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The planes were then taken out of service for more than a year and a half due to the decision of the authorities all over the world. Reuters reported last month that the Justice Department is now considering whether Boeing has not violated an agreement that shielded it from criminal prosecution over fatal accidents in 2018 and 2019.
