Boeing's safety culture is hitting some major turbulence! ✈️🔥 On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate took a deep dive into the aviation giant's practices during two intense hearings. The focus? A mid-air panel blowout on a nearly new 737 MAX 9 back in January, which has everyone asking serious questions. 😬
At the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, whistleblowers shed light on what's going on behind the scenes. Former Boeing engineer Ed Pierson dropped some bombshells, revealing he gave the FBI key records about the door plug that blew out on an Alaska Airlines flight. 🚪💨
Boeing claims those documents \"never existed,\" but the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) hasn't received them either. 🤔 The FBI? They're keeping quiet for now. 🤐
Since that scary incident on January 5th, Boeing's been shaking things up. They've changed management, U.S. regulators are keeping a closer eye, and their deliveries plummeted by half in March. 📉
Whistleblower Sam Salehpour, a Boeing quality engineer, told the Senate he was told to \"shut up\" when he raised safety concerns about the 787 Dreamliner and the 777 jets. 😱 He was even moved off the 787 program because of his questions!
Salehpour warned about tiny gaps—like, the thickness of a human hair—that could cause big problems at 35,000 feet. 🧐✈️ \"When you're operating at 35,000 feet, the size of a human hair can be a matter of life and death,\" he said.
Boeing's pushing back, saying they've found no fatigue cracks on nearly 700 Dreamliners that have had heavy maintenance. They also say retaliation is strictly prohibited at the company. 🛡️
The FAA chimed in, assuring that every aircraft flying meets their airworthiness standards. 🙌 But Senators aren't entirely convinced. They're pressing Boeing to improve its safety culture, especially after two tragic 737 MAX crashes that killed 346 people. 💔
Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell is expecting a serious plan from Boeing in response to an FAA deadline. The clock is ticking! ⏰
Will Boeing turn things around, or are we witnessing a giant facing its toughest challenge yet? Stay tuned! 👀
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
