Since the fatal accidents with 737 Max 8 airplanes in 2018 and 2019, with a death toll of more than 340, along with the problems with the 787 or “Dreamliner” model, the chain of failures of the American aeronautical giant has been increasing.
Recently, one of the safety doors of a Boeing detached in mid-flight, causing panic and an emergency landing.
For these reasons, Congress is investigating Boeing and has taken the deficiencies found and the events that occurred in the manufacturer’s aircraft very seriously.
Members of a panel of experts who found serious flaws in Boeing’s safety culture appear in the first session of the Senate.
The main event will be a second hearing featuring a Boeing engineer who claims several sections of the skin on the 787 Dreamliner planes are not properly secured and could come off.
Expert who denounced Boeing testifies before the Senate
The whistleblower’s lawyer points out that Boeing has ignored the engineer’s concerns and prevented him from speaking to experts about correcting the defects.
The whistleblower, Sam Salehpour, sent documents to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which is investigating the quality and safety of Boeing manufacturing. Ed Pierson, former Boeing 737 program manager, will also testify Wednesday before a Senate investigations subcommittee. Two other technical aviation experts are also part of the witness list.
The Democrat who heads the subcommittee of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and his Republican superior have asked Boeing for a large number of documents dating back six years.
Lawmakers are seeking all records about the manufacturing of the Boeing 787 and 777 aircraft, including any safety concerns or complaints raised by Boeing employees, contractors or airlines. Some of the questions seek information about Salehpour’s allegations of poorly fitting carbon composite panels on the Dreamliner.
A Boeing spokesman said the company is cooperating with lawmakers’ investigation and offered to provide documents and instructions.
The company claims that allegations about the structural integrity of the 787 are false.
Company engineers deny accusations
Two Boeing engineering executives said this week that design tests and inspections of the planes — some of which are 12 years old — have found no signs of fatigue or cracking in the composite panels. They indicated that the material, made up of carbon fibers and resin, is almost immune to fatigue, which is a constant concern with conventional aluminum fuselages.
“What we will hear today (…) is an example of the behavior of large groups that prioritize profits at the expense of security,” Blumenthal, president of the investigative commission, told CNBC before the hearing.
Calhoun was asked to be present, but was not on the witness list released Monday.
“Boeing understands the importance of the commission’s responsibilities in terms of oversight and we cooperate with this investigation,” reiterated the group, which showed its willingness to “provide documents, testimonies and technical reports.”
The hearing comes after Sam Salehpour, a quality engineer at Boeing a decade ago, contacted the US civil aviation regulatory agency (FAA) about the safety of the Dreamliner and the 777.
Salehpour claimed that the manufacturer “repeatedly ignored serious concerns regarding safety and quality control in the construction of the 787 and 777,” according to a Jan. 17 email from his attorneys to FAA Director Mike Whitaker.
“Our client identified significant safety concerns and did everything possible to bring them to the attention of Boeing officials,” continues the email made public on April 9 following a report published by The New York Times.
“Deficiencies in assembly”
Salehpour explains that he had noted “deficiencies” in the Dreamliner assembly process that had caused “deformation of materials (…) which could alter its operation due to long-term use.”
Regarding the 777, it states that “new assembly procedures” implemented without the “necessary redesign of the parts involved resulted in poor alignment of the parts.”
According to the whistleblower, “Boeing engineers faced pressure to turn a blind eye” to this which “represents a serious safety risk.”
According to The New York Times, parts of the Dreamliner “are assembled incorrectly and could come apart from each other in mid-flight after thousands of flights.”
Boeing immediately rejected the allegations and on Monday defended its methods by declaring itself “confident in the safety and durability of the 787 and 777” in a report signed by two of its chief engineers.
Engineers denied accusations that some 1,400 Boeing aircraft have significant safety flaws.
Following the alert launched by Salehpour, the FAA opened an investigation into these two models.
“We thoroughly investigated all reports,” the entity reiterated on Tuesday.
However, according to the FAA, all Dreamliners in operation “comply with the AD,” the seaworthiness directives.
Boeing said Wednesday that the 787 has safely flown more than 4.2 million flights.
“Extensive and rigorous airframe testing and in-depth maintenance checks of some 700 aircraft in service found zero evidence of airframe fatigue,” the company said.
United Airlines confirms its confidence in the Dreamliner
Scott Kirby, president of United Airlines, which owns 71 Dreamliners, said Wednesday on CNBC that he has “complete confidence in the safety” of this plane.
“Thousands of these planes have been flying for decades, millions of flight hours,” he emphasized.
But three of the four commercial aircraft models manufactured by the American group are officially under investigation by the air regulator.
The FAA is investigating the 737 family, Boeing’s flagship aircraft, after an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 lost a blind door in mid-flight on January 5.
The FAA identified “non-conformity issues” with procedures at both the manufacturer and Spirit AeroSystems, one of its suppliers.
The Alaska Airlines incident occurred amid a series of production issues in 2023 involving the 737 MAX and Dreamliner.
Dreamliner deliveries were suspended for almost two years, in 2021 and 2022, and again at the beginning of 2023, due to a fuselage problem.
The 737 MAX were grounded worldwide after the accidents of two 737 MAX 8s in 2018 and 2019, resulting in 346 deaths.
Source: With information from AP and AFP
