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During a Senate committee hearing, a Boeing whistleblower said that he was threatened after raising concerns about the company’s manufacturing processes.

Sam Salehpour, a quality engineer at Boeing, claimed that he faced retaliation after he pointed out that parts of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner fuselage were not properly joined. According to Salehpour, improper assembly could potentially lead to the aircraft breaking apart midflight due to premature fatigue failure. Despite repeated attempts to bring these issues to light within the company, Salehpour was reportedly isolated, transferred, and received threats aimed at silencing him.

Salehpour detailed his experiences during the hearing, stating, “In a rush to address the bottlenecks in production, Boeing hit problems, putting pieces together with excessive force to make them appear that the gaps don’t exist even though they exist. The gap didn’t actually go away, and this may result in premature fatigue failure. Effectively, they are putting out defective airplanes.”

The hearing highlighted broader issues within Boeing, already under scrutiny following a recent incident in which a door plug of a 737 Max 9 plane detached shortly after takeoff. Boeing’s CEO, David Calhoun, was also invited to the hearing but did not attend.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Investigations, underscored the gravity of the allegations and displayed evidence provided by Salehpour, including a photo of a tire punctured by a bolt, suggesting it was an act of retaliation.

Further complicating matters, Ed Pierson, executive director of The Foundation for Aviation Safety, criticized both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) for their lax oversight. Pierson emphasized that the safety standards once considered the gold standard are now compromised, leading to a dangerous illusion of safety. He called for urgent action and accountability to prevent future risks to public safety.