Boeing whistleblower says "thousands" of faulty or nonconforming parts go missing during plane production
Boeing whistleblower says "thousands" of faulty or nonconforming parts go missing during plane production
A whistleblower says he was not surprised when a panel on a Boeing airplane blew off in the Oregon sky.
Summary
Whistleblowers at Boeing allege widespread safety lapses, including missing or defective parts and improper assembly practices, driven by pressure to maintain production schedules.
A January incident where a door panel blew off a new 737-9 Max mid-flight has sparked investigations, with insiders like Sam Mohawk revealing that thousands of faulty parts may have been installed on planes.
Other whistleblowers describe similar concerns over quality control failures, managerial indifference, and retaliation for speaking out.
Boeing denies safety risks but faces ongoing FAA investigations amid heightened scrutiny over its practices.
That's what happens when you tie people's bonuses directly to how many planes they push out the door. You optimize for production quantity at the cost of everything else.
Let’s ignore Boeing for a second, because this is an interesting problem. Our society rewards production and accepting that, I’m not sure getting planes “out the door” is inherently bad.
It seems to me the issue lies in how to reward the auditors. I think we’d all agree this responsibility should ultimately be a Gov’t function.. but internal quality assurance is a thing too. So, how does a company reward this team of auditors? E.x., Finding more errors naively seems like the correct metric. However, their bonus would then go down with program effectiveness- that is, fewer errors/faults based on adversarial competition between the production team and the auditing team would lead to fewer findings (presumably).
Management bonuses is a whole other issue. Then, who should oversee this entire program of rewards to ensure it’s systematically safe for the public? Assuming we accept the premise that rewards are desired.
Reward the entire company when the recall numbers get lower and the safety in the air numbers get higher. Have a culture where someone saying that something isn't right is a good thing, not punished. This could be done through the training of managers and open door policies. People don't always need financial compensation. Telling an employee that they're appreciated for finding and fixing issues can go a really long way.
As with lots of topics, John Oliver does a great job explaining how something as "simple" as a company merger and moving the headquarters can begin to rot a company from the top down.
Everyone in Seattle knew this was going to happen when it happened. The local employees had been through a lot with Boeing and would never have let them outsource and do all the shady shit they're doing. It was obvious at the time what they were up to.
Something as simple as a crack pipe.
I've worked in production environments and let me tell you: some managers simply do not give a fuck.
At least our parts were putting people's lives at risk.At least our parts were putting people's lives at risk.
Did you mean "Weren't putting people's lives at risk"?
No
Hahahahaha
Yes, thank you.
I think Boeing's hitmen are barking up the wrong tree.
Do you think the hitmen and counter-hitmen will eventually end up confronting each other?
I said I would never fly again unless I absolutely have to. Now I will absolutely have to and I hope to god it's on an Airbus.
Airbus has it's own set of issues and maintenance problems. They just haven't been newsworthy. I will hand it to them, they've consistently improved the maintainability of their aircraft over time, however they have no interest in improving longevity. Boeing has an extensive aging fleet plan and support. Airbus just says "buy a new airplane".
Can you link to sources for this?
Also, it makes sense to retire a plane when it’s 20-30 years old, essentially because it becomes extremely inefficient. That said There are nearly 200 A300s flying. They were introduced in 1974.
I have a friend who is the chief engineer for a charter airline that has a 4 plane fleet, A320, First gen. From the 80s or early 90s.
Your claim doesn’t seem to hold up.
You should be able to check what airplane your flight uses. The last few times I’ve flown, I’ve been able to sort by airbus. It might be site dependent though.
Good to know, thanks.
Even with everything considered you’re statistically more likely to die on your way to the airport than on the actual flight.
You’re being irrational.
You can choose flights that use airbus, as someone else said.
I'm on my way back from the UK on British airways because they use airbus. Was roughly the same cost as the delta flight using a Boeing.
thre are a some airlines in Europe which are all Airbus, like Easyjet, Iberia, etc. When looking for flights I always try to fly these type of airlines. Prices some times may be 10-20 € more. Worth it for me. Also, the A320 is more comfortable than the 737.
Haven't been on an airplane for 5.5 years. From Norway, lived in Australia for 3 years (return trip to Norway twice a year), and now live in Denmark. Closer to the continent, so we drive on holidays instead. And I'm keeping it that way!
i don't fly i just take trains and buses
Hope you don’t drive then. Or bike. Or hell, I think even walk (need to double check that last one). Flying is still by far the safest mode of transportation.
And to those who say “well I’m not in control of the vehicle”, you truly think you are on the road with so many others in such close proximity? At least air traffic is regulated.
Attitudes like this reduce the cost of flying and I thank you for that
It's not an "attitude," it's factual. Airplanes are loud, the seats are cramped and uncomfortable, and the passengers are often obnoxious.
Maybe you're okay with unpleasant loud noise, discomfort and annoyance, but considering how much people hate those things in general, I think you're in a small minority.
Friend of mine worked there for a year in industrial health working yo make their process safer and it’s a shit show. Someone irradiated themselves.
Imagine just doing your job and then suddenly, something happens and now you are almost guaranteed to get cancer.
What a shitshow indeed.
Oh they ignored every sign and precaution and didn’t believe radiation was dangerous. Bunch of stupid good old boy shit.
why is Boeing using radioactive material? I'm assuming this was on an assembly line and they dosed themselves from the x-ray scanner
I think it was scanning metal thicknesses. I don’t know all the details but she said there was two weeks of meetings and they concluded the dude was an idiot and there wasn’t really anything else that they could have done to stop him besides firing or moving him somewhere else. Dude just ignored all the safety warnings and bypassed the barriers or whatever on purpose.
Boeing killed John Barnett.
Looks like Agent 747 is getting another mission
Seems like an appropriate thread to drop this
RIP.
I am so happy seeing boing fail. My startup failed due to investor interference in the end, showing how MBA are incapable.