A whistleblower complaint by Sam Mohawk revealed on June 2023, alleges that Boeing concealed defective parts from the FAA, installed some in new 737 planes, and lost track of others.
According to a whistleblower complaint, Boeing concealed defective plane parts from federal regulators and later lost track of them, some of which may have been installed in new aircraft. These allegations represent the aerospace company’s latest manufacturing problems this year, as its CEO is under investigation for possible flight safety violations.
According to a Senate subcommittee investigation that has been widely reported, Sam Mohawk, a quality assurance inspector for Boeing in Renton, Washington, claims the company has lost track of defective parts for new 737 planes after they “intentionally hid” them from Federal Aviation Administration inspectors.
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According to Mohawk, defective parts were mishandled and kept outside until Boeing asked that they be kept somewhere else until the FAA inspected them in June 2023.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who made the committee’s report public, claims Mohawk has lost some of the defective parts—marked with a red tag or red paint—while others were installed in new planes. Blumenthal’s office did not immediately respond to a request from Forbes.
Blumenthal claimed Mohawk was given orders by his superiors to remove documentation indicating the parts were defective before regulators inspected them.
Following receipt of the complaint late on Monday night, Boeing is examining the claims, the company stated in a statement to Forbes.
David Calhoun, the CEO of Boeing, is scheduled to speak on Tuesday before a Senate committee led by Senator Blumenthal. Calhoun, who stated in prepared remarks that Boeing’s culture is “far from perfect,” is anticipated to talk about the company’s intentions to address its manufacturing problems.
Following the January incident involving a metal door stopper that flew off an Alaska Airline Boeing 737, federal officials have been closely monitoring Boeing. The National Transportation Safety Board’s inquiry revealed that the aircraft was missing several crucial fasteners, indicating that it may have been flying without them for several months before the event. Last week, FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker announced that the organization was “processing several reports” from whistleblowers and that there were “multiple active investigations” into Boeing. Before the Alaska Airlines incident, Whitaker observed that the FAA was “too hands-off” in its regulation of Boeing. Boeing’s production problems have been acknowledged by Calhoun, who stated in January that the business was “accountable for what happened” during the Alaska Airlines disaster.
After discovering that hundreds of fasteners on unfinished 787 Dreamliners were put improperly, Boeing announced last week that it was looking into a quality concern with the aircraft. According to Boeing, the problem won’t affect deliveries or flying safety. The FAA announced last month that it was looking into Boeing’s allegations that certain personnel had fabricated inspection reports for specific 787 Dreamliners. In a memo, Boeing stated there was no safety concern as a result of the omitted inspections.
Recently, GreatGameIndia reported that, according to the Federal Aviation Administration’s notification, 300 Boeing 777s used by United and American Airlines are at risk of exploding fuel tanks.