BOEING WHISTLEBLOWER SAYS HE WOULD NOT FLY ON 737 MAX PLANE AFTER DEFECT CLAIMS

A whistleblower who worked for a Boeing supplier has claimed airplane parts left the factory with ‘serious defects.’

Santiago Paredes alleged that Boeing’s largest supplier Spirit AeroSystems in Kansas regularly shipped out parts with defects, the BBC and CBS report.

It was only a ‘matter of time before something bad happened’ due to faulty parts, he told CBS.

Mr Paredes said he is now reluctant to fly on a Boeing 737 Max plane in case it still carries parts from the factory he worked as a quality inspector for more than a decade.

He also claimed he was pressured to play down the number of defects he spotted, the BBC reports.

A spokesperson for Spirit told Metro.co.uk in a statement it takes ‘all employee concerns about quality, safety, work practices, and products very seriously.’

Mr Barnett had claimed in a 2019 BBC interview that overworked staff had been deliberately fitting planes with sub-standard parts.

He also alleged he discovered serious problems with oxygen systems, suggesting that one-in-four masks might not work in an emergency.

Boeing said previously it is cooperating ‘fully and transparently’ with the ongoing investigation.

Another Boeing whistleblower Joshua Dean, 45, died suddenly after claiming he was fired for flagging concerns about safety standards at the Spirit AeroSystems Wichita plant.

His death appears to be due to natural causes after suffering from an infection.

He worked as a quality auditor at the same plant were Mr Paredo was until he left in mid-2022.

Mr Paredo told CBS News why he decided to speak publicly: ‘In a way I think before, if something happens to me, I’d rather them hear it from me than not hear it at all.

‘My cry out is not a cry out to get somebody in trouble. My cry out is to highlight the defects that they well known are in their factory, but they need to fix them. So their business can be successful.’

There have been multiple incidents involving Boeing planes.

A Boeing 737 plane with 73 passengers on board swerved off the runway in Senegal after its left wing reportedly caught on fire.

It came just a day after a Boeing 767 cargo plane almost crash landed when its front landing gear failed on approach to Istanbul Airport.

In March, a Boeing 737 made an emergency landing in Houston, Texas, shortly after takeoff after its engine burst in flames.

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2024-05-09T14:59:41Z dg43tfdfdgfd