Boeing Co allegedly took shortcuts to ease production bottlenecks for its 787 Dreamliner aircraft that could eventually impair the structural integrity of more than 1,000 of the widebody jets in service, according to a quality engineer who worked on the planes.

The embattled plane-maker wrongly measured and filled gaps that can occur when airframe segments are joined together, according to Sam Salehpour, a long-time Boeing employee who made his concerns public on Tuesday. 

Over time, the issue could lead to “significant fatigue”, according to a Jan 19 letter to US aviation safety regulators by the law firm Katz Banks Kumin LLP in Washington, which is representing Salehpour as a whistle-blower.

Salehpour, who according to his attorneys worked on the 787 from 2020 through early 2022, told reporters on Tuesday that the issues he described “may dramatically reduce the life of the plane”. 

The claims intensify the scrutiny of Boeing’s manufacturing and quality practices that’s been building since a fuselage panel blew off a nearly new 737 Max 9 shortly after take-off on Jan 5. The allegations also extend the harsh spotlight to the Dreamliner, a critical source of cash for the plane-maker as 737 output is muted under close oversight by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

After the allegations were made public, Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, announced that he had asked Boeing’s departing chief executive officer Dave Calhoun to appear in an April 17 subcommittee hearing called to examine the plane-maker’s safety culture. 

“Boeing understands the important oversight responsibilities of the subcommittee and we are cooperating with this inquiry,” the company said, when asked if Calhoun or other executives planned to testify. “We have offered to provide documents, testimony and technical briefings, and are in discussions with the subcommittee regarding the next steps.”

In separate statements, Boeing disputed Salehpour’s account. The company noted it had halted 787 deliveries for nearly two years earlier this decade under close FAA supervision after it found a spate of tiny structural imperfections in the joints where the carbon-fibre barrel sections are bolted together. 

“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 responding to the allegations, which were reported earlier on Tuesday by the New York Times. 

Company engineers are “completing exhaustive analysis to determine any long-term inspection and maintenance required, with oversight from the FAA”, Boeing said.

The latest allegations cast Boeing in an unfavourable light as it grapples with a crisis of confidence after the Jan 5 panel blow-out. While nobody on that flight was seriously hurt, the issue has put the spotlight on Boeing’s manufacturing and safety procedures and has led to a wholesale makeover of senior management. The crisis has jolted investors as well. 

Boeing shares fell 1.9% on Tuesday, extending their decline to nearly 32% this year, the worst performance on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Senate hearing

Salehpour, a long-time Boeing employee, plans to discuss the manufacturing shortfalls he witnessed during the hearing before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations scheduled for April 17. 

In a March 19 letter to Calhoun, Blumenthal and Wisconsin’s Ron Johnson, the panel’s top-ranking Republican, asked for Boeing’s “immediate cooperation” with the panel’s review of Salehpour’s allegations. 

Salehpour’s attorneys flagged the issues to the FAA in a whistle-blower letter dated Jan 19. The agency has launched an investigation and interviewed Salehpour, his attorneys said, adding that other whistle-blowers have come forward.

“Voluntary reporting without fear of reprisal is a critical component in aviation safety,” the FAA said in a statement. “We strongly encourage everyone in the aviation industry to share information. We thoroughly investigate all reports.”

Boeing disputed his attorney’s suggestion that in-service 787 Dreamliners face shorter commercial lives. The company said it had confirmed the finding through extensive fatigue testing, including forces that were more than 10 times the maximum allowed in production.  

Salehpour said he flagged his concerns to Boeing management but was ignored and ultimately transferred to the 777 programme. There, he claims to have witnessed improper production practices after the plane-maker ripped out a flawed robotic system without properly redesigning the relevant parts to match the new assembly process.

  - Bloomberg