Whistleblower Raises Concerns of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner

(NewsWorthy.news) – An engineer with plane manufacturer Boeing is blowing the whistle on major safety concerns that could cause crashes if they are not fixed.

Sam Salehpour, who testified in front of a subcommittee in the Senate on Wednesday April 17, said he has received threats after starting the alarm that Boeing planes are being produced with serious defects. Before his hearing, the whistleblower shared publicly that the planes could “drop to the ground” in the middle of a flight.

Boeing has rejected the allegations of malfunction on their 787 Dreamliner planes, saying the company is “fully confident” in its safety.

A week after first expressing his concerns, Salehpour went on NBC Nightly News to give his first on-camera interview about the issue. According to the engineer, Boeing has not effectively fixed the problem of gaps that have been uncovered on multiple planes, the result of two parts of fuselages being conjoined while in the assembly process.

Salehpour said even these small gaps can be disastrous when in flight, adding that he “would not” even let his family fly on a 787 Dreamliner until he is sure the problem is being adequately addressed.

Salepour’s claims come less than five months after a door panel on a newly built Boeing—a 737 Max 9—fell off the plane in January, leading to considerable backlash and questions about the structure’s manufacturing. CEO Dave Calhoun resigned from his position after this incident.

It also follows similar claims from a former quality manager and whistleblower, John Barnett, who was found dead from a perceived “self-inflicted” gunshot wound last month. He had been nearing the end of a deposition trial in which he was testifying against Boeing for negligently mishandling safety issues.

Regarding the 787 Dreamliner accusations, the plane manufacturer said that the claims about the plane’s “structural integrity” are “inaccurate.” It also shared that the concerns have led to “rigorous engineering examination” that has been conducted with the oversight of the Federal Aviation Administration.