Claims about worrying practices at Boeing have been released just hours before CEO Dave Calhoun is due to give testimony in front of the Senate Subcommittee on Investigations in Washington DC to answer questions on the company’s “broken safety culture”.
According to ABC News, Senator Richard Blumenthal, who serves on the Subcommittee on Investigations, revealed details of the new whistleblower claims on June 18, 2024, in a memo from his office.
Sam Mohawk, a Quality Assurance Inspector for Boeing in Renton, alleges that the company is cutting corners by losing track of parts that have been labeled as “non-conforming” or inadequate, according to Senator Blumenthal.
Some parts get a second lease of life because they can be mended or were labeled incorrectly, but often they should be disposed of, according to Senator Blumenthal.
Mohawk claims that the parts sometimes end up being used in newly built aircraft, according to Senator Blumenthal.
“He said that he has been told by his supervisors to conceal this evidence from the FAA, and that he is being retaliated against as well,” Blumenthal said in a statement seen by media agencies.
According to Bloomberg, the memo additionally said that Mohawk claimed as many as 400 faulty 737 MAX aircraft parts may have been lost and deleted from a cataloguing system, some of which may have been installed in new planes.
Boeing reportedly only caught wind of the new allegations late on June 17, 2024.
“We continuously encourage employees to report all concerns as our priority is to ensure the safety of our airplanes and the flying public,” a Boeing spokesperson said in a statement to the media.
Calhoun is expected to be grilled by senators over safety problems at the company, quality control and the treatment of whistleblowers when he appears at the subcommittee on June 18, 2024.
Boeing are still searching for a new CEO to replace Calhoun after a number of potential candidates ruled themselves out of being considered.
AeroTime has contacted Boeing for further comment on Sam Mohawk’s claims.