“Every person boarding a Boeing is at risk”: four whistleblowers testify against the aviator

Boeing est accusé de graves manquements concernant la sécurité et le contrôle qualité dans la construction de certains de ses appareils. ILLUSTRATION MAXPPP – Boris Roessler

The safety of Boeing planes, which has frequently made headlines in recent months, was examined this Wednesday, April 18, in the American Senate, after the revelations of a quality control engineer from the American manufacturer.

Four whistleblowers, including an engineer and former Boeing employees, testified this Wednesday, March 17 before a US Senate commission of inquiry to warn of "serious problems" in the production of Boeing 737 MAX, 787 Dreamliner and 777 aircraft.

"I was told to shut up, received physical threats"

"I'm not here because I want to be here. I'm here because […] I don't want to see the crash of a 787 or a 777", Sam Salehpour told senators , a quality engineer at Boeing for seventeen years, said he had serious concerns about the safety of the 787 and the 777. /p>

"I’have been left out. I was told to shut up, I received physical threats", the engineer continued. "If something happens to me, I am at peace, because I feel that, by testifying openly, I will save many lives" .

This is a letter from his lawyers, notably to the American Civil Aviation Regulatory Agency (FAA), which is at the origin of the decision. rsquo;senatorial investigation.

"Still work to do"

The almost two-hour hearing was the first in a series during which Boeing and FAA officials will be called to testify, said Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal , president of the commission of inquiry.

"There are growing serious accusations that Boeing's safety culture is broken and its practices are unacceptable", noted Mr. Blumenthal, specifying that he had received numerous testimonies in recent days.

"We know we still have work to do and we are taking action across the group", a admitted the aircraft manufacturer after the hearing. "Retaliation is completely prohibited at Boeing", a-t – he assured, indicating that reports linked to production had jumped by 500% since January, over one year.

"We continue to put safety and quality above everything else", insisted the group , saying he is "confident in the safety and durability of the 787 and 777".

Alarm signals ignored

In addition to Mr. Salehpour, the commission of inquiry also heard Ed Pierson – a former Boeing manager notably on the 737 MAX program –, Joe Jacobsen – who worked 25 years at the FAA after eleven years at Boeing – and Shawn Pruchnicki – aviation safety specialist and former airline pilot.

"I did everything I could to tell the world that the MAX was still not safe and to alert authorities to the dangers of Boeing" production, Mr. Pierson explained. But "nothing changed after the two crashes".

The 737 MAXs were grounded worldwide after two 737 MAX 8 accidents in 2018 and 2019 (346 deaths), due to design defects.

"Unless action is taken and leaders are held accountable, every person boarding a Boeing is at risk", according to Mr. Pierson, who found FAA oversight to be "ineffective and reactive".

Boeing "must commit to real, profound improvements and we will hold them accountable at every step" , indicated the regulator after the hearing. "We will continue our incisive oversight" of Boeing, he added.

M. Blumenthal had already called on the Department of Justice to verify whether Boeing was respecting the agreement reached in 2021 to avoid a trial linked to the two accidents. The revelations during the hearing will undoubtedly further increase the pressure.

An open investigation

Following the alert launched by Mr. Salehpour, the FAA opened an investigation into these two types of aircraft. From now on, three of the four models of commercial aircraft manufactured by the American group are officially the subject of an investigation by the regulator. It examines the family of the 737, Boeing's flagship plane, after an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 lost a cap holder in flight on January 5.

On this subject, Mr. Pierson denounced a "criminal cover-up" when Boeing claims, according to the NTSB investigative authority, to have no documentation concerning manipulations on the cap holder in its factory. "This documentation exists […] I sent it myself to the FBI", the federal police, "several months ago", he said.

According to an NTSB spokesperson on Wednesday, this agency "has not received any such documentation from either Boeing or ;another entity". An FAA audit identified "non-compliance issues" at the manufacturer and at its subcontractor Spirit AeroSystems.< /p>

The Alaskan incident occurred in the wake of several production issues in 2023, involving the 737 MAX and the Dreamliner.