Boeing 787 Dreamliner is flawed: Whistleblower sounded alarm early on

India Today

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In 2024, Boeing engineer Sam Salehpour raised serious concerns about the structural integrity of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. He alleged that the American aircraft manufacturer took shortcuts while manufacturing the aircraft model's fuselage and warned it could lead to catastrophic failures over time. Following that, the US Federal Aviation Administration launched an investigation into the same.Almost a year later on Tuesday, an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, operating as Flight AI171 from Ahmedabad to London, crashed shortly after take-off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. The aircraft, carrying 242 passengers and crew, plummeted into the city's Meghani Nagar area, killing more than 200.advertisementThe cause of the Air India crash is now under investigation by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and there is no initial evidence linking it to the concerns raised by Salehpour. However, the tragedy has reignited scrutiny of the celebrated wide-body jet, the 787 Dreamliner, and the company Boeing itself.
Boeing Airplanes, in its statement on the Air India crash, said that it was "in contact with Air India regarding Flight 171", adding it stood "ready to support them"."Our thoughts are with the passengers, crew, first responders and all affected," the aircraft manufacturer said in the statement on Tuesday.The crash in Ahmedabad marks the first fatal accident involving a 787 since its commercial debut in 2011.WHISTLEBLOWER WARNED OF STRUCTURAL FLAWS IN 787 ASSEMBLYSalehpour, an engineer at Boeing for over a decade, in January 2024, claimed that improper fastening of fuselage sections during assembly posed risks to the aircraft's longevity. He claimed that the flawed manufacturing could potentially cause it to break apart mid-flight after thousands of trips.advertisementHis allegations, detailed in interviews with The New York Times and a formal complaint to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), prompted an ongoing FAA investigation into the 787's production processes.Salehpour's red flag also extended to Boeing's 777 jets.The whistleblower alleged that the gaps in fuselage joints and excessive force used to align parts, could lead to premature fatigue in the aircraft's composite materials.Salehpour's 2024 complaint detailed how Boeing's assembly process for the 787 involved forcing misaligned fuselage sections together, sometimes with workers physically jumping on parts to align them."I literally saw people jumping on the pieces of the airplane to get them to align... By jumping up and down, you're deforming parts so that the holes align temporarily... and that's not how you build an airplane," Salehpour was quoted as saying by CNN.He warned that these shortcuts, affecting over 1,000 Dreamliners, could compromise the aircraft's safety, which was designed to withstand long-term flight stresses.The FAA had previously investigated similar issues, halting 787 deliveries for nearly two years starting in 2021 due to gaps in fuselage joints.Boeing claimed that it had addressed these concerns, adding that the planes were safe and claimed that extensive testing showed no immediate safety risks.advertisementHowever, Salehpour's attorneys argued that the FAA was surprised to learn the gaps persisted, and he faced retaliation, including a transfer to the 777 program, where he identified similar issues.Boeing denied these allegations, and showed its confidence in the 787's safety, saying the physical manufacturing changes would have "no impact on the durability or safe longevity of the airframe", the New York Times reported in April 2024.Boeing spokesman, Paul Lewis, then said the company had done extensive testing on the Dreamliner and was "determined that this is not an immediate safety of flight issue".737 MAX'S DOOR PLUG BLOWOUT ADDED TO BOEING'S SAFETY WOESConcerns with the 787 and 777 came to light amid broader safety issues at Boeing, most notably involving its 737 Max jets.The 737 Max was grounded worldwide from March 2019 to December 2020 after two fatal crashes, Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, which killed 346 people. The move was linked to flaws in the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) of the aircrafts.Later in January 2024, the 737 Max 9 faced another grounding after a door plug blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight. It further exposed the ongoing quality control issues at Boeing.advertisementThese incidents, combined with whistleblower claims like those of Salehpour and the late John Barnett, who raised concerns about Boeing's South Carolina plant before his mysterious death in 2024, fuelled distrust in Boeing's manufacturing practices.The American manufacturer has since faced FAA restrictions, a leadership overhaul, and a criminal investigation by the Justice Department.Must Watch