Rama Krishna Sangem
Exactly a year before an American whistleblower Sam Salehpour, a senior employee of Boeing, raised security and safety concerns about the company’s 787 Dreamliner aircraft. But, the Boeing company ignored his concerns and tried to suppress the issue.
Air India’s flight AI 171, with 242 on board flying to London, crashed shortly after takeoff in Ahmedabad this afternoon, in one of the worst aviation disasters in aviation history. The plane was a Boeing 787 Dreamliner – a fuel-efficient, wide-body aircraft that is the pride of the US company’s catalogue for long-distance flights.
Despite being marketed as one of the safest and most advanced aircraft in the skies, the Dreamliner has been linked to several technical faults. In fact, the crash has put the spotlight on claims by a Boeing engineer last year, who said that the 787 Dreamliner suffers from assembly defects that threaten safety.
Whistleblower Sam Salehpour – who worked at Boeing for nearly two decades – accused the company of putting profit over safety, and retaliating against him after he raised concerns by “involuntarily” transferring him to the 777 program.
Attorneys for the whistleblower said, “Rather than heeding his warnings, Boeing prioritised getting the planes to market as quickly as possible, despite the known, well-substantiated issues Mr Salehpour raised.” He later told the US Senate about structural problems in the Dreamliner’s fuselage and claimed that small gaps and improper assembly could cause early wear and possible structural failure.
Boeing denied charges
Boeing had released a detailed defence of the aircraft, saying it is “fully confident” in the Dreamliner and denying charges it retaliated against the worker. The Federal Aviation Administration launched an investigation based on Mr Salehpour’s stunning claims. It later said the 787s in use at this time “are in compliance with current safety regulations”.
In June last year, another whistleblower stepped forward, alleging he was retaliated against after flagging potentially dangerous manufacturing problems on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Richard Cuevas filed complaints with two US agencies alleging he was dismissed suddenly in March 2024 after raising concerns over manufacturing deviations in the forward pressure bulkhead, which is critical to managing pressure during flights, according to attorneys Katz Banks Kumin. Cuevas worked as a contractor for Strom, who assigned him to Spirit AeroSystems, which builds fuselages for the Dreamliner.
Ready to support Ahmedabad crash probe
His attorneys filed complaints with the Federal Aviation Administration and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, saying in the latter submission that Mr Cuevas believes that “based on his direct observations of glaring safety issues, that Boeing’s and Spirit’s statements to the public and investors about the safety of 787 Dreamliners are fraudulent.”
The cause of the plane crash in Ahmedabad is still under investigation by Air India and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Boeing, meanwhile, has said ‘ready to support’ Air India over 787 Dreamliner crash.
The pilots gave a mayday call to the ATC soon after takeoff, however, there was no response after calls were made by the ATC. There is at least one survivor in the crash. Of the 242 people, 169 were Indian nationals, 53 were British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals.
