Normal aircraft parts are installed, and defective or damaged parts are sorted out. Such sorted parts must be documented, traced and then repaired or disposed of. Most importantly, they must not be used in production.
Horror allegation: Boeing is said to have reused defective parts
But a quality inspector at Boeing now fears that this is exactly what may have happened. The man named Sam Mohawk accuses the aircraft manufacturer of having lost track of up to 400 defective parts for the Boeing 737 Max. According to the Bloomberg news agency, this accusation comes from a complaint Mohawk filed with the federal agency Occupational Safety and Health Administration on June 11.
This complaint was published by a US Senate subcommittee in a memo to members on Tuesday (June 18). Boeing said it received the document on Monday evening (June 17) and is investigating the allegations.
Important records deleted
This includes allegations that records of many of the defective parts were deleted from an internal cataloging system. Mohawk also claimed that dozens of defective parts – including large components such as rudders and flaps – were improperly stored outdoors.
Boeing also instructed employees to move many of these parts to a different location when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced an inspection in June 2023. After that date, the parts were either taken outside again or lost, according to the allegations.
Reports from Boeing whistleblowers are rising rapidly
Mohawk said he tried to raise the issue through Boeing’s internal reporting program, “Speak Up,” but his report was eventually forwarded to the managers he complained about.
The aircraft manufacturer stated: “We continually encourage our employees to report any concerns because our priority is to ensure the safety of our aircraft and the flying public.” The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently announced that it had received more than eleven times as many reports from Boeing whistleblowers in the first five months of the current year as in the entire previous year.