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Boeing is accused of cutting corners and risking lives while producing planes.
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A dozen whistleblowers have accused the company of safety failures and cover-ups.
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The Defense Department has now awarded the company a $212 military contract.
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The company’s CEO recently apologized to the families of plane crash victims.
(NewsReady.com) – Allegations against Boeing have saturated the headlines in recent months. The aerospace company is accused of putting lives at risk by cutting corners and then punishing employees who speak out. Despite the allegations, the US government just awarded the company a massive military contract. Ironically, the announcement came the same day the CEO attended a hearing with senators on Capitol Hill.
DOD Contract
On June 18, news broke that Boeing won a $212 military contract. The company will make repairs to Navy fighter jets. The repairs include fixing configurations of flight control surfaces on 11 F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornets, and EA-18G Growlers. The planes were all manufactured by Boeing originally.
The repairs will take place in St. Louis, Missouri, and Jacksonville, Florida. Most of the work will happen in Florida, however. The company is expected to complete the work by December 2028.
Investigations
Boeing is currently under investigation by multiple federal agencies. John Barnett, a whistleblower, took his own life outside of a hotel in South Carolina in March. He was in the state to attend a deposition in a lawsuit he’d filed against the company for retaliating against him after he claimed the company covered up problems with its planes.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) later substantiated some of the allegations made by the former Boeing employee. Barnett worked for the company for 30 years until his retirement in 2017.
At least 12 whistleblowers have come forward and complained about the company’s safety issues.
CEO on Capitol Hill
Boeing CEO David Calhoun appeared at a Senate hearing on the same day news broke about the contract. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) invited the families of victims who died in the 2018 and 2019 Boeing crashes in Indonesia and Addis Ababa, respectively.
The families held signs and photos of their loved ones. More than 300 people died in the two crashes that were attributed to problems with the planes that Boeing was allegedly aware of. Calhoun told the Senate that he was turning the company around, promising that he was focusing on the safety issues.
The CEO claimed he was “heartbroken” over Barnett’s suicide. He claimed his company encourages employees to speak out and said the process works.
After the hearing, Calhoun faced the families behind him and apologized for the deaths of their loved ones.
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