In a new development added to the concerning record of incidents recently faced by American Boeing, company engineer Sam Saleh Bour, who has turned into a whistleblower, confirmed that the 787 Dreamliner aircraft is unsafe for flight. The man amplified his previous claims regarding this type of aircraft on Tuesday, emphasizing that it is unsafe due to assembly defects, stating the aircraft could collapse and fall to the ground mid-flight unless these problems are addressed, according to his statements in an interview with "NBC Nightly News."
In his first on-camera interview since he publicly raised his allegations last week, the engineer stated that the company has not yet properly addressed the small non-conforming gaps found in multiple aircraft after joining sections of the fuselage together during assembly, stressing that such "safety issues" could lead to catastrophic outcomes. When asked whether he would put his family on a 787 aircraft now, Saleh did not hesitate to say: "At this time, I would not."
Saleh Bour is expected to testify before a subcommittee of the U.S. Senate today, Wednesday. However, Boeing refuted these claims yesterday, stating that the aircraft is safe and that the company is completely confident in the 787 Dreamliner. Boeing said in its statement to NBC News: "These claims about the structural safety of the 787 are inaccurate.. The issues raised have undergone rigorous engineering scrutiny under the oversight of the Federal Aviation Administration."
These allegations have surfaced while Boeing continues to suffer from the repercussions of an incident involving an explosion of a door panel mid-flight from a recently built 737 Max 9 during a crowded Alaska Airlines flight on January 5. This incident led to intense scrutiny of the company's manufacturing processes and prompted Boeing's CEO, Dave Calhoun, to announce his resignation from his position.
Additionally, two senior engineers from Boeing defended the structural safety of the 787 aircraft in a media tour at the Dreamliner manufacturing plant in South Carolina on Monday, claiming that the wide-body aircraft has undergone endurance testing for 165,000 cycles, which exceeds the aircraft's expected lifespan and has never failed. The company confirmed that it has inspected 689 of the more than 1,100 787 aircraft in service worldwide and found no evidence of fatigue.
For his part, Jeff Guzzetti, a former safety investigator with the Federal Aviation Administration, told NBC News that even if these cracks were to form, which he stated have no evidence, the aircraft is highly resistant and structurally very strong.
Despite these assurances, Saleh Bour remained steadfast in his allegations, stating that the production of the 787 should halt while the alleged issues in the fleet currently in service are addressed. He noted that these gaps could make the 787 susceptible to "early fatigue failure," especially as the aircraft ages.
It is worth noting that Saleh Bour's allegations became public for the first time last week in a report by The New York Times and subsequently in other media. Saleh Bour, who worked at Boeing for 15 years, informed the Federal Aviation Administration of the matter last January, stating that after raising his concerns internally, Boeing transferred him to work on the 777 line in 2022. The agency announced that it is investigating his claims.
This incident marks the latest in a series of issues faced by the renowned company, raising global concern about the safety standards that Boeing aircraft are experiencing. The company has faced several incidents that have raised alarms in the aviation world over the past months, including a cabin door detaching from an aircraft and another engine failing shortly after takeoff, as well as a tire falling off one of the aircraft while in flight, in addition to consecutive technical failures that have dealt severe blows to the aircraft manufacturing giant, causing its stocks to experience painful losses recently.
Perhaps the breaking point incident occurred weeks ago when former Boeing employee John Barnett "committed suicide" just days after testifying in an ongoing lawsuit against the company. This sparked numerous doubts and conspiracy theories surrounding that incident.
