Ryanair engineers 'check every Boeing' after 'spanners found under floorboards'
Michael O'Leary has revealed his concerns over Boeing's manufacturing process.
The Ryanair boss said every new Boeing jet delivered to them undergoes stringent safety checks before joining their fleet.
His concerns were prompted, he claimed, after his engineers would find 'tools under the floorboards'.
O'Leary was speaking after a Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed seconds after take off in Ahmedabad, India.
The Air India plane, carrying 242 passengers and crew members, took off at 1.38pm local time only to begin plummeting 30 seconds later.
There is no suggestion that Boeing is at fault in the crash of Air India flight 171.
The plane under question had been delivered in 2014 and so would have been through many full maintenance cycles.
Despite this, the boss of Ryanair, which only uses Boeing jets, expressed his reservations about Boeing's manufacturing.
He told The Times: 'We had planes being delivered and when we get them back to Dublin we find spanners and tools under the floorboards.
'What the factory in Seattle needs is someone overseeing the production line. At the moment it's just salesmen.'
As a result, the budget airline now has a team of 30 inspection engineers oversee aircraft production in the US.
Once a new aircraft arrives in Dublin, engineers also inspect the plane for 48-hours.
'Only once we are completely happy does it go into operation,' O'Leary said in February last year.
Warnings from a Boeing whistleblower have also resurfaced following the Air India plane crash on June 12.
Sam Salehpour, an engineer at Boeing for over a decade, alleged last year that Boeing 'took shortcuts' while manufacturing the wide-body jet to speed up production.
The whistleblower claimed that the 787's fuselage, the aircraft's body, could break apart mid-flight after thousands of trips.
He testified: 'I have analysed Boeing's own data to conclude that the company is taking manufacturing shortcuts on the 787 program that may significantly reduce the airplane safety and the lifecycle.'
He said this was because the enormous parts that make up a fuselage were made by different manufacturers, so they didn't properly fit together.
Salehpour told a Senate panel: 'I literally saw people jumping on the pieces of the airplane to get them to align.
A report by America's Federal Aviation Authority into his claims has yet to be made public.
Boeing has conceded that manufacturing changes were made to the Dreamliner, but tests determined there were no 'immediate issues'.
The company said at the time it was 'fully confident in the 787 Dreamliner', adding: 'These claims about the structural integrity of the 787 are inaccurate and do not represent the comprehensive work Boeing has done to ensure the quality and long-term safety of the aircraft.'
The Dreamliner, first delivered in 2011, is one of Boeing's most popular planes. It is more fuel-efficient than many other long-haul aircraft because it is made of composite materials, such as lightweight carbon and glass fibre, over hefty metals. More Trending
Boeing's annual summary of incidents and accidents in April said no Dreamliners have ever been destroyed or damaged beyond repair.
Boeing President and CEO Kelly Ortberg said: 'Our deepest condolences go out to the loved ones of the passengers and crew on board Air India Flight 171, as well as everyone affected in Ahmedabad.
'I have spoken with Air India Chairman N. Chandrasekaran to offer our full support, and a Boeing team stands ready to support the investigation led by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.'
Metro has contacted Boeing for comment.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
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