Boeing whistleblower doubles down on claims saying 787s should be grounded ... trends now
Boeing whistleblower Sam Salehpour told NBC News' Tom Costello in a shocking interview that Boeing's controversial 787 jets should be grounded on account of 'fatal flaws' that could cause the aircraft to fall apart mid air.
The interview, which aired Tuesday night, comes just a day before Salehpour heads to Congress to testify about his concerns surrounding Boeing's safety practices, in particular cracks caused by fatigue as a result of planes flying thousands of hours.
Salehpour said that through coming forward in the media and in front of Congress, he was going to save people's lives. Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun has also been summoned but it remains unclear if he will attend.
This week, Steve Chisholm, Boeing's chief engineer, mechanical and structural engineering said investigators have not found fatigue cracks on in-service 787 jets that have gone through heavy maintenance.
The pair are set to answer questions surrounding a string of safety incidents involving Boeing, notably the blowout of a door plugin that occurred on an Alaska Airlines flight in January.
The panel plugged a space left for an extra emergency door on the jet, which was operated by Alaska Airlines. Pilots were able to land safely, and there were no injuries.
Earlier this year, the long time engineer laid out his allegations in in a Federal Aviation Administration complaint.
The interview, which aired Tuesday night, comes just a day before Sam Salehpour heads to Congress to testify about his concerns surrounding Boeing's safety practices
Salehpour said that he believes the stress caused by the aggressive fastening of parts could cause an aircraft to fall apart midair
Salehpour earlier said that rather than take his issues seriously, Boeing retaliated against him, something the company denies
A doorplug blew out midair on an Alaska Airlines flight on January 7, 2024 in Portland, Oregon
Pictured: Outgoing Boeing CEO David Calhoun speaking with reporters weeks after a Boeing 737's door plug blew out
Salehpour told Costello that the stress created from fastening together big pieces of the fuselage, in order to fix gaps, could cause 'fatigue failure' mid air.
The result would see 'the plane fall apart at the joints... once you fall apart, you're going to descend all the way to the ground.' When asked if he felt the plane could fall apart in the air, Salehpour replied: 'Absolutely.'
'The entire fleet worldwide, as far as I'm concerned right now, needs attention,' he went on speaking about the 787.
'And the attention is, you need to check your gaps and make sure that you don't have potential for premature failure,' Salehpour continued.
In addition to his structural concerns, Salehpour said he faced retaliation, such as threats and exclusion from meetings, after he identified engineering problems that affected the structural integrity of the jets, and claimed Boeing employed shortcuts to reduce bottlenecks during 787 assembly, his attorneys said.
Boeing halted deliveries of the 787 widebody jet for more than a year until August
