A Boeing quality inspector claims that the American aircraft manufacturer mishandled and lost hundreds of defective aircraft parts, some of which may have been installed on new planes of the problematic 737 Max model.
Bloomberg News reports this on Tuesday.
The claim is the latest in a series of whistleblower revelations that reveal various irregularities at the aircraft manufacturer.
Boeing inspector Sam Mohawk's report was submitted to an organization within the US Department of Labor and was made public by a US Senate subcommittee on Tuesday.
The aircraft manufacturer has stated that the claims are being reviewed after receiving the document late on Monday.
According to Bloomberg News, Sam Mohawk claims that dozens of defective 737 components were improperly stored outdoors and that Boeing ordered employees to move the majority of them to another location before the FAA notified the company in June 2023 that they intended to conduct an on-site inspection.
Sam Mohawk claims that the parts were eventually moved back outdoors or lost.
Since last year, Boeing has misplaced up to 400 faulty 737 Max parts and deleted records for many of them from an internal cataloging system, according to the whistleblower.
The allegations are one in a series of similar claims from various whistleblowers that together paint a picture of how Boeing has cut back on its production and quality processes.
Sam Mohawk's claims bear similarities to allegations previously raised by the now-deceased Boeing whistleblower John Barnett about the manufacture of one of the company's other aircraft, the 787 Dreamliner.
Police then have a Some time ago, it was determined that John Barnett's death, which occurred in the midst of an ongoing lawsuit with the aircraft manufacturer, was the result of suicide.
The latest whistleblower complaint was released by the Senate Intelligence Committee on the same day it plans to question Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun regarding quality and control deficiencies within Boeing.
Dave Calhoun plans to admit that Boeing's culture is "far from perfect," according to his written testimony, CNBC reported on Tuesday.
The US aviation authority FAA has simultaneously issued a statement encouraging Boeing employees to come forward.
Since January 5 of this year, the FAA has received over eleven times as many whistleblower reports in the first five months of this year than in all of 2023, it was revealed last week, according to Bloomberg.
Tuesday's fresh allegations add further pressure on Boeing, which is already under investigation by several federal agencies - including the Department of Justice.
Prosecutors are also considering whether to charge Boeing after finding that the aircraft manufacturer violated an agreement that allowed the company to avoid charges following the two fatal 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019, Bloomberg notes.
CEO Dave Calhoun's appearance before the Senate is scheduled for 8 p.m. Swedish time tonight.
Source: Dagens Industri
