(NewsReady.com) – The US government awarded Boeing a military contract worth more than $200 million recently. The news came the same day the company’s CEO was on Capitol Hill, testifying before the Senate. A new whistleblower is now claiming the aerospace company might be using defective parts on its planes.
On June 18, hours before Boeing CEO David Calhoun testified in front of the Senate, Sam Mohawk was identified as a whistleblower. The Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released information about the whistleblower. A statement from the committee stated that the former quality assurance inspector accused the company of losing track of airplane parts that weren’t up to design standards. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said the whistleblower claimed Boeing sometimes put those defective parts in newly-built planes.
Mohawk went even further, according to the senator. He alleges his supervisors told him to “conceal evidence” from the Federal Aviation Administration. And then the company is accused of retaliating against him. The whistleblower said he was afraid that the nonconforming parts being used on 737 jets could “lead to a catastrophic event.” Mohawk eventually filed a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
In January, a door plug blew off an Alaska Airlines flight when it was midair. Blumenthal said the incident “blew off the hollow shell that had been Boeing’s promises to the world.” The senator accused the company of prioritizing its profits over safety and disregarding its workers.
Boeing responded to the allegations in a statement from a spokesperson, saying that the company had just received the allegations and was reviewing Mohawk’s claims. The spokesperson also claimed they always encourage employees to report concerns. At least a dozen whistleblowers have disputed that and said there’s a culture of cover-ups at the company.
CEO Calhoun told the Senate that he’s trying to fix the problems at the company and claimed progress is being made. He also apologized to families whose loved ones died in plane crashes on Boeing jets.
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