Santiago Paredes worked as a quality inspector at Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems in Kansas between 2010 and 2022. He now testifies to the British public broadcaster that he was nicknamed “showstopper” within the company because he regularly delayed production by expressing his concerns. According to the man, he “often” found up to 200 defects in the various parts being prepared for shipment to Boeing. “I discovered many missing fasteners, many bent parts and sometimes even missing parts.”
At Spirit AeroSystems, still Boeing’s largest supplier, they refute Paredes’ criticism and say his claims are “completely untrue.” Boeing has so far declined to comment.
Spirit and Boeing are both the subject of investigations after an unused door on a brand new 737 Max came loose shortly after takeoff in January this year, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the plane. According to investigators, the door was originally installed by Spirit but then removed by Boeing technicians to repair defective rivets.
Not any incident
Several incidents involving Boeing aircraft were also reported in the following months. For example, on Wednesday there was a report that a Boeing freighter had made a belly landing in Istanbul, Turkey because the front wheels had not been deployed due to a technical defect. In 2018 and 2019, two 737 Max aircraft were involved in fatal crashes that killed a total of 346 people.
On Thursday, eleven passengers were injured after a Boeing 737 skidded off the runway in the Senegalese capital Dakar and then caught fire.
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Not any whistleblower
Paredes is certainly not the first whistleblower to expose abuses at Boeing (and Spirit AeroSystems). Last week, 45-year-old Joshua Dean died as a result of a serious bacterial infection. He, too, was a former quality auditor at Spirit who filed a complaint against the company alleging “serious and gross misconduct by senior quality management of the 737 production line.”
In March this year, 62-year-old John ‘Mitch’ Barnett was also killed by what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. After nearly three decades working at the aircraft manufacturer, Barnett told The New York Times in 2019 that he had found “clusters of metal slivers” hanging over flight control wiring that could have caused “catastrophic damage” if left by the plane. wires were crowded.
