Boeing CEO admits company has retaliated against whistleblowers during Senate hearing: ‘I know it happens’
Kicking off his testimony at the special committee on Tuesday, Calhoun apologized to the families of Boeing crash victims who were present
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The CEO of Boeing has admitted the company retaliated against whistleblowers who have spoken out against alleged production malpractices, telling a special Senate hearing: “I know it happens.”
David Calhoun apologized to the families of Boeing crash victims, saying the manufacturer was “totally committed” to future saftey improvements, as he began testimony at the committee on Tuesday.
It comes as the embattled aircraft manufacturer faces a string of lawsuits relating to malpractice, after a door plug of a 737 Max 9 blew off during an Alaska Airlines flight in January.
Multiple whistleblowers have since come forward with concerns about violations of safety during production inspections, and many have claimed they were “retaliated” against by Boeing.
Asked about how many Boeing employees had been disciplined for retaliating against whistleblowers, Calhoun responded: “I don't have that number on the tip of my tongue, but I know it. I know it happens.”
Senator Richard Blumenthal, who chaired the hearing told him: “You have a duty to demand the highest safety standards... and [ensure] that ‘speak up’ in fact means speak up, not shut up, as it is meant all too often.”
Whistleblower says Boeing lost hundreds of faulty parts -- and some may be on new 737 Max planes
50 Boeing whistleblowers still want to talk safety fears despite two informants dying after speaking out
Dead Boeing whistleblower’s family says company may not have ‘pulled the trigger’ but it’s responsible
50 Boeing whistleblowers still want to talk safety fears despite two informants dying after speaking out
Roughly 50 current and old Boeing employees have joined the cause against the beleaguered aircraft manufacturer and demand improved safety for fliers, despite the deaths of two whistleblowers.
The employees are not trying to “bring down” the company but are desperate to get its safety standards on track, their lawyers have said.
Read more here:
50 Boeing whistleblowers still want to talk safety fears despite informant deaths
Dozens of Boeing employees, both past and present, continue to seek legal representation, expressing a desire to testify about their own experiences and concerns with the embattled aircraft manufacturer
Senate committee begins
A special Homeland Security’s investigations subcommittee, chaired by Senator Richard Blumenthal, has begun.
Senator Blumenthal began by thanking the many members of the whistleblowers’ families that were in attendance at the hearing.
“This hearing is a moment of reckoning. It is about a company, a once iconic company known for engineering excellence and product prwess that somehow lost its way,” he said.
“For a while some started believing that Boeing had changed, but then this past January, the facade literally blew off the hollow shell that had been Boeing’s promises to the world and what that chasm had been exposed we learned there was virtually no bottom to the void that lay below.”
The CEO of Boeing, David Calhoun, is due to testify at the hearing.
Troubled history of Boeing 737 Max aircraft
Boeing CEO David Calhoun’s Senate testimony comes following several years of incidents involving Max aircrafts.
The Justice Department is considering whether to prosecute Boeing for violating terms of a settlement it reached with the company over allegations it misled regulators who approved the plane.
Max jets crashed in 2018 in Indonesia and 2019 in Ethiopia, killing 346 people. The FAA subsequently grounded the aircraft for more than a year and a half.
The FAA briefly grounded some Max planes again after January’s mid-air blowout of a plug covering an emergency exit on the Alaska Airlines plane. The agency and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) opened separate investigations of Boeing that are continuing.
The Independent understands that family members of Max crash victims are due to be in attendance at Tuesday’s Senate hearing.
Dead Boeing whistleblower’s family says company may not have ‘pulled the trigger’ but it’s responsible
The family of a dead Boeing whistleblower has said that they hold the aircraft manufacturer responsible for his death, even if the company had not “pulled the trigger”.
John Barnett, 62, a quality control engineer at Boeing for 32 years, was found dead at a South Carolina hotel in March, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound – shortly after he began testimony in a lawsuit against the company.
Read the full story here:
Dead Boeing whistleblower’s family says company responsible for his death
John Barnett, 62, a quality control engineer at Boeing for 32 years, found dead at a hotel in March
Watch: Boeing CEO to testify before Senate committee
New whistleblower testimony warned of ‘catastrophic event'
New whistleblower testimony – released hours before Boeing CEO David Calhoun is set to be questioned about company safety practices by the Senate – warned of a potential “catastrophic event” due to “nonconforming parts” that were likely installed on aircraft.
Sam Mohawk, a quality assurance investigator at the 737 assembly plant near Seattle, claims Boeing hid evidence of the situation after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) informed the company a year ago that it would inspect the plant.
“Once Boeing received such a notice, it ordered the majority of the (nonconfirming) parts that were being stored outside to be moved to another location,” Mohawk said, according to the report. “Approximately 80 percent of the parts were moved to avoid the watchful eyes of the FAA inspectors.”
The parts were later moved back or lost, Mohawk said. They included rudders, wing flaps and tail fins — all crucial in controlling a plane.
“Mohawk feared that non-conforming parts were being installed on the 737s and that it could lead to a catastrophic event,” the report read.
The allegations came as part of a 204-page report released by the Senate just hours before Calhoun is set to appear.
It will mark the first appearance before Congress by Calhoun — or any other high-ranking Boeing official — since a panel blew out of a 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. No one was seriously injured in the incident, but it raised fresh concerns about the company’s best-selling commercial aircraft.
Mother and brother of dead Boeing whistleblower to attend Senate hearing
The mother and brother of Boeing whistleblower John Barnett – who was found dead earlier this year – will be in attendance at Tuesday’s Senate hearing, The Independent understands.
The 62-year-old, who had been a quality control engineer at Boeing for 32 years, was found dead at a South Carolina hotel in March, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A coroner later ruled that he died by suicide. At the time he was testifying in a lawsuit against the aircraft manufacturer.
Attorney Brian Knowles, who represents the Barnett family as well as multiple other Boeing whistleblowers, said he hopes David Calhoun’s testimony will be a step twards justices.
“We are hoping that Mr Calhoun’s testimony today will be a step forward in the search for justice and accountability,” Mr Knowles said, in a statement shared with The Independent, ahead of the hearing.
Calhoun will be grilled about Boeing’s “broken safety culture” at 2pm eastern time at a Homeland Security’s investigations subcommittee, chaired by Senator Richard Blumenthal.
Quality inspector says Boeing lost hundreds of faulty parts – and some may be on new 737 Max planes
A quality inspector has alleged that Boeing lost track of hundreds of faulty parts - and some may be on Max 737 planes that have become a focus of safety concerns.
Sam Mohawk is the latest employee of the aircraft company to come forward publicly with concerns. It comes ahead of testimony from Boeing CEO David Calhoun at a special Senate committee.
Amelia Neath has the story:
Boeing quality inspector says lost up to 400 faulty parts
Sam Mohawk has claimed that hundreds of parts that were ‘non-conforming’ had been lost. His statement was revealed before a Congressional hearing on Boeing practices.
Boeing CEO to testify at special Senate committee
The CEO of Boeing is due to testify in front of a special Senate hearing, just hours after a new whistleblower came forward with further allegations of bad practice and company cover-ups.
David Calhoun will face questions about on the beleagured aircraft manufacturers “broken safety culture” at 2pm eastern time at a Homeland Security’s investigations subcommittee, chaired by Senator Richard Blumenthal.
It comes as Boeing faces a string of lawsuits relating to manufacturing malpractice, after a door plug of a 737 Max 9 blew off during an Alaska Airlines flight in January.
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