A whistleblower has come out to claim that the Boeing 787 Dreamliners are unsafe and could fall apart mid-air. The whistleblower who has been identified as Engineer Sam Salehpour spoke about his concerns during an interview with NBC News.
Following the allegations, Engineer Salehpour will be testifying before the US Senate in a session during which he is expected to come face to face with Boeing executives. He has alleged that despite raising the alarm, Boeing dismissed his concerns.
The engineer claims that he fears the Dreamliner could simply drop to the ground unless the manufacturing issues, which he cited as gaps between components that emerged during the plane’s assembly, are addressed.
These allegations are now being investigated by the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA).
HIs claims come at a time when plane maker Boeing is facing intense scrutiny following a series of faults involving its planes, the most recent being a door that fell off the plane mid-air.
In that incident that took place in January 2024, a Boeing 737 Max 9 under Alaska Airlines was forced to return to its point of departure in Portland, Oregon, in an emergency landing after a door panel blew out as mid-air.
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The incident was however not catastrophic as the plane had not climbed too high to its cruising altitude. This incident led to thousands of flights involving that model to be canceled and an investigation that unearthed lose bolts in the planes.
Boeing’s previous 737 model, the 737 Max 8 was in 2018 and 2019 involved in deadly crashes in which over 300 passengers died.