(NewsNation) — A whistleblower who says all Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets should be grounded by the aerospace company for safety reasons is at the center of two major Congressional hearings Wednesday.
Sam Salehpour, who sent documents to the Federal Aviation Administration amid its investigation into the quality and safety of Boeing’s manufacturing, is set to testify at the Senate committee hearings, along with Ed Pierson, a former manager on the Boeing 737 program. Two other aviation technical experts are on the witness list for the proceedings as well.
“Boeing is at a moment of reckoning,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, said in his opening remarks for the first hearing. “It’s a moment many years in the making.”
Wednesday’s hearings are the first of several lawmakers intend to have so they can get to the bottom of “Boeing’s broken safety culture,” Blumenthal, who chairs the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, said.
Salehpour accuses Boeing of taking shortcuts to speed up the production of its planes. In an interview with NBC News, he said the “entire fleed worldwide, as far as (he’s) concerned right now, needs attention.”
To the FAA, Salehpour, a Boeing engineer, said he repeatedly warned management about serious concerns he had with the production of 787 and 777 jets. Issues Salehpour says he raised include how fuselage sections of the 787 Dreamliner could have much shorter lifespans than expected due to improper fastening.
Asked by NBC if he would put his family on a 787 jet right now, Salehpour said, “I would not.”
These assertions made by Salehour come amid several incidents that caused concern about Boeing planes, including when a plug covering an unused exit door blew off a Boeing 737 Max as it flew above Oregon in January.
Boeing said in a statement that it is “fully confident in the 787 Dreamliner” and that the issues do not present any safety concerns.
A Boeing spokesperson told NewsNation that the company continues to cooperate with both lawmakers and investigators.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This story is developing. Refresh for updates.
