FAA probes Boeing whistleblower’s alarming safety claims about 787 and 777 jets

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a Boeing whistleblower’s claims that the plane-marker’s parts are outsourced from different manufacturers and don’t fit together on the assembly line.

The whistleblower – engineer Sam Salehpour who worked for Boeing for more than a decade – said that the 787 Dreamliners’ fuselages come in different pieces, all from different companies, and as a result is affecting how the pieces of the plane fasten together, The New York Times earlier reported.

Salehpour’s attorneys have also said that workers used shortcuts during the 787 assembly process that added on major airplane joints. In a Jan. 19 letter to FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker, the lawyers said Salehpour made these observations while working on the 787 program in 2021.

“Rather than heeding his warnings, Boeing prioritized getting the planes to market as quickly as possible, despite the known, well-substantiated issues he raised,” attorneys Debra Katz and Lisa Banks added in a Tuesday statement.

Boeing’s 787 plane models also faced scrutiny in 2021, after the Federal Aviation Administration  investigated concerns about the vessels’ ability to meet certification standards. The line was halted for a year, and the FAA approved the first 787 Dreamliner for delivery after its probe in August 2022.

Boeing’s entire 787 fleet was also grounded in 2013, when the NTSB found that there were issues with the aircrafts’ lithium-ion batteries that had been short circuiting.