The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is looking into new claims made by a Boeing engineer about the safety of the company’s 787 Dreamliner aircrafts. Sam Salehpour says sections of the planes’ fuselages may not have been correctly joined together and could weaken over time. He alleges that to meet production targets, shortcuts were taken.
Untouched by these claims, Boeing has defended the integrity of its Dreamliner. The company states that it addressed fuselage fitting and joining issues in 2020 and after a nearly two-year halt, got FAA approval to resume production and deliveries of the 787s in August 2022.
Salehpour will testify about his claims at a Senate hearing next week. The fresh allegations upset Boeing’s tries to recover its image following multiple investigations into a 737 Max aircraft accident in January. Also, Boeing is under the FAA’s May deadline to resolve manufacturing quality issues.
Boeing remains confident in its production standards and detailing its comprehensive process tweaks, transparency, and FAA oversight stating further work encourages differing opinions. Salehpour’s attorneys, however, believed these changes aren’t enough.
