Senate to investigate claims that Boeing plane could break apart mid-flight

The Senate committee on investigations is opening an inquiry into allegations that there are safety flaws in Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner. According to the company, the plane is the best-selling passenger wide-body aircraft of all time.

The New York Times reported a Boeing engineer raised concerns that sections of the fuselage in the 787 Dreamliner are assembled in a way that could weaken over time and break apart after thousands of trips.

Whistleblower Sam Salehpour is scheduled to testify at a hearing during the week of April 14. The subcommittee chairman hopes Boeing will show up too. 

“Sunlight is a powerful disinfectant and an incentive for a company to do better,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told Straight Arrow News. “And I think Boeing has questions that they have to answer to the public that has been raised by these whistleblowers. We’re going to give the whistleblowers a chance to tell their story. I hope Boeing will show up to tell theirs.”

The committee already received a copy of the whistleblower report. Members said it reveals dangerous manufacturing deficiencies that are creating potentially catastrophic safety risks. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is also investigating. 

According to The New York Times report, the whistleblower said the plane’s fuselage comes in several pieces. They come from different manufacturers, and they are not exactly the same shape where they fit together. 

In a statement to The New York Times, Boeing said it is “fully confident in the 787 Dreamliner,” and added, “these claims about the structural integrity of the 787 are inaccurate and do not represent the comprehensive work Boeing has done to ensure the quality and long-term safety of the aircraft.”

Despite multiple incidents, including a door panel blowing off an Alaska Airlines plane at 16,000 feet, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., wants people to remember that flying is very safe. According to the International Air Transport Association, from 2019 to 2023 there was one aviation accident for every 880,000 flights on average. 

“There are obviously problems with Boeing’s quality control system and their subcontracting,” Sen. Johnson told SAN. “Air travel is still likely the safest way of traveling. And what I don’t want to do is take a couple instances, which are obviously regrettable, might have been preventable, and blow that into a great big problem where people are afraid to travel via air.” 

Johnson also hopes Boeing executives will come explain themselves and said they have many questions to answer. Specifically, Johnson wants to hear from them about their maintenance schedules.