From 100PercentFedUp - READ ORIGINAL
Some media, including videos, may only be available to view at the original.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s (D-CT) office announced another Boeing whistleblower has come forward as the company’s CEO prepares to testify before Congress on Tuesday.
“The senator’s office identified the employee as Sam Mohawk, a quality assurance inspector for Boeing in Renton, Washington,” ABC News reports.
JUST IN: Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s office on Tuesday said a current Boeing employee has come forward as a whistleblower, an announcement that comes hours before the airplane manufacturer’s chief executive is set to testify on Capitol Hill.
Read more: https://t.co/SLmHgMiNdk pic.twitter.com/xfHHpV46dN
— ABC News (@ABC) June 18, 2024
Per ABC News:
Mohawk alleges that Boeing is cutting corners by losing track of parts that have been labeled as non-conforming or not up to design standards, according to Blumenthal. Sometimes these parts get a second chance because they can be fixed or were mislabeled, but often they should be discarded. Still, the parts sometimes end up in newly built airplanes, Mohawk said, according to the senator.
“He said that he has been told by his supervisors to conceal this evidence from the FAA, and that he is being retaliated against as well,” Blumenthal said in a statement.
A Boeing spokesperson said the company had received on Monday evening the documents supplied to Blumenthal by the whistleblower. The company is reviewing the claims now, the spokesperson said on Tuesday.
“We continuously encourage employees to report all concerns as our priority is to ensure the safety of our airplanes and the flying public,” the spokesperson said.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun is scheduled to provide testimony to U.S. senators on the company’s ‘broken safety culture.’
“Two months ago, I asked the Boeing Quality Engineer if there ‘was a culture of retaliation against Whistleblowers at Boeing?’ He responded, ‘Absolutely.’ Tomorrow, Boeing’s CEO will testify in the Senate- I look forward to his response,” Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) said.
WATCH:
Two months ago, I asked the Boeing Quality Engineer if there “was a culture of retaliation against Whistleblowers at Boeing?”
He responded, “Absolutely.”
Tomorrow, Boeing’s CEO will testify in the Senate- I look forward to his response. pic.twitter.com/FjYBQT1h97
— Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) June 17, 2024
From The Hill:
After the Alaska Airlines blowout in January, the outgoing CEO said Boeing was “accountable for what happened,” a sentiment he plans to echo in his opening remarks before the subcommittee.
“From the beginning, we took responsibility and cooperated transparently with the [National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)] and the [Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)] in their respective investigations,” according to a copy of Calhoun’s prepared testimony shared with The Hill ahead of the hearing.
“In our factories and in our supply chain, we took immediate action to ensure the specific circumstances that led to this accident would not happen again,” Calhoun adds. “Importantly, we went beyond to look comprehensively at our quality and manufacturing systems.”
Federal aviation experts identified “gaps” in Boeing safety culture in a February FAA report that began before the Alaska Airlines blowout. The company presented its 11-page “Product Safety and Quality Plan” to the FAA last month detailing steps the company has taken to improve its safety culture and how it will measure its progress.
Multiple whistleblowers have come forward with allegations that the planemaker cut corners to increase profit and retaliated against employees who spoke up. Several testified before the subcommittee in April.
