Boeing’s global fleet of 787 Dreamliner jets should be grounded for safety checks after manufacturing errors left them structurally unsound, a whistleblower has said.
Engineer Sam Salehpour, who will testify in the US Congress on Wednesday, claimed that a race to speed up production had led to serious issues with the aeroplanes including small gaps between sections of fuselage.
He is calling for the entire fleet of more than 1,000 Dreamliners to be kept on the ground for inspection.
Speaking to US broadcaster NBC, Mr Salehpour said: “The entire fleet worldwide, as far as I’m concerned right now, needs attention. And the attention is, you need to check the gaps and make sure that you don’t have potential for premature failure.”
The claims heap more pressure on Boeing as it grapples with the crisis surrounding the smaller 737 Max – under investigation after production flaws caused a panel to blow out of an Alaska Airlines plane – and faces questions over whether it compromised safety by attempting to build jets faster and compete with European rival Airbus.
US carrier United Airlines has blamed a $200m (£161m) hit to its earnings in the first three months of the year on the blowout, after it was forced to ground many planes as a result.
Boeing said this week that claims about the 787’s structural integrity are inaccurate and that work done to ensure quality and long-term safety give it full confidence in the plane.
An official has said the model has been stress-tested for 165,000 flight cycles, beyond its expected lifespan, and that no aircraft have shown evidence of fatigue.
Mr Salehpour set out his concerns about the 787 and the even larger 777 plane in a complaint to the Federal Aviation Administration earlier this year, which the regulator has said it is investigating.
The letter said that parts of the 787 were improperly fastened together following changes to the production process and were in danger of coming apart after thousands of flights.
Mr Salehpour said Boeing brushed off his concerns. His claims will be scrutinised by a Senate panel later Wednesday.
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