Boeing whistleblower testifies to Congress after claiming the 787 Dreamliner could ‘drop to the ground’: Live

Sam Salehpour, whistleblower and quality engineer at Boeing, said his boss threatened him after he voiced concerns at a company meeting.

“My boss said, ‘I would have killed someone who said what you said in the meeting,’” Mr Salehpour testified before a Senate committee. “This is not safety culture, when you get threatened by bringing issues of safety concerns.”

An unidentified man viewing the whistleblower hearing briefly interrupted the proceedings, holding documents in the air as he spoke.

It is unclear what the man said or what he shouted at the presiding senators. However, Chairman Richard Blumenthal said the committee would meet with him privately and review his documents.

“I want to spare you being removed and just tell you that we will be happy to take those documents and meet with you privately,” Mr Blumenthal said.

Shawn Pruchnicki said Boeing’s series of alarming events are a first in his decades of work in aviation and aerospace safety.

“There does not appear to be any evidence of changes to any of the components on the horizon as a string of alarming events continued to unfold,” Dr Pruchnicki testified. “In safety engineering work, we call these precursors to accidents. I have never in my decades of Aerospace Safety work seen so many continuing to arrive one after another.”

Dr Pruchnicki is an aviation accident investigator and former commercial pilot. He is also a professional practice assistant professor of integrated systems engineering at The Ohio State University.

“Within the aeroplane world you have to look at what’s happening and go how comfortable am I flying in this aeroplane versus that aeroplane? For me personally, I keep track of what’s happening on the [737 Max] for obvious reasons, and I’m worried about what’s happening on the [737 Max],” aviation safety expert Javier de Luis testified.

“Now if I had to fly somewhere, because there was, there was no other option,” Dr de Luis continued. “I would absolutely fly it versus driving for example because I can make that trade.”

“I found gaps exceeding the specification that were not properly addressed 98.7 per cent of the time,” Sam Salehpour, quality engineer at Boeing, said of measurements and joints on the 787s.

“Inspection of the data shows that the debris ended up in the gaps 80 per cent of the time,” he continued. “Again, you know you have debris in the gaps 80% of the time.”

“I’m not here today because I want to be here,” whistleblower Sam Salehpour said. “I’m here today because I felt that I must come forward, because I do not want to see another 787 or 777 crash.”

“I have analyzed Boeing’s own data to conclude that the company is taken manufacturing shortcuts on the 787 program that may significantly reduce the airplane safety and the lifecycle,” Mr Salehpour told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee for Investigations.

Four first-hand expert witnesses will testify on the state of Boeing:

Sam Salehpour, quality engineer at Boeing; Ed Pierson, former Boeing manager; Joe Jacobsen, former Federal Aviation Administration engineer; Shawn Pruchnicki, an aviation accident investigator and former commercial pilot.

“These whistleblowers have come forward at great personal risk,” Senator Richard Blumenthal said at the whistleblower hearing. “In fact, a number of them and others have suffered harassment, isolation, transfers, and even threats of physical violence.”

Mr Blumenthal specifically thanked Sam Salehpour, Boeing quality engineer, for speaking about his safety concerns.

“As a result, he was isolated, transferred, even threatened for refusing to stay silent,” the senator said of Mr Salehpour.

As aviation safety experts continue their testimony, another Senate committee will hear from a Boeing whistleblower.

Sam Salehpour, a quality engineer for the company, told NBC News on Tuesday evening the aircraft could “drop to the ground” in midair if safety concerns aren’t addressed. Meanwhile, Boeing claims the model is safe to fly.

He will testify to the investigations subcommittee of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.