A Boeing whistleblower told a Senate hearing that he faced threats and abuse after expressing safety concerns about the plane maker.
Quality engineer Sam Salehpour appeared before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations on Wednesday, one of two hearings held against Boeing in the wake of a cabin panel explosion in January.
The incident sparked a crisis at the company, prompting a management shakeup and U.S. regulators restricting its production.
Mr Salepour told the committee he feared “physical violence” after raising concerns, including that he discovered gaps between parts of the 787 Dreamliner’s fuselage.
“They call you on your personal phone to let you know they know where you live,” he said. “They know where you are. They could hurt you.”
“These threats…really scare me, believe me, but I’m calm,” he added. “If something happened to me, I would be at peace because I feel like by coming forward, I would be saving a lot of lives, and no matter what happens, my work will be like that.”
The hearing comes a month after another Boeing whistleblower, John Barnett, was found dead while testifying in a lawsuit against his former employer.
Mr Salipour, who has worked at Boeing for more than a decade, claimed there was “no safety culture” at the company and claimed employees who raised the alarm were “ignored, sidelined, threatened, marginalised, or worse”.
He called on Boeing to ground all 787 aircraft for inspection, claiming that fuselage parts could break after thousands of flights and endanger lives.
The engineer also raised concerns about the 777 aircraft, claiming incorrect methods and unlimited force were used to align parts of the plane.
Mr Salipur described how he repeatedly sought to raise his concerns internally over a three-year period.
“I was ignored,” he said. “I was told not to cause delays. Frankly, I was told to shut up.”
Mr Salepour claimed that on one occasion after he tried to discuss his concerns, his supervisor told him: “If it was from any other group, I would kill anyone who said what you said, I would tear them apart. ”
Boeing said it “strictly prohibits” retaliation.
Salepour said in written testimony that he decided to contact Sen. Richard Blumenthal “because I sincerely believe that the safety issues I observed at Boeing, if not addressed, could lead to commercial aircraft A catastrophic failure occurred, resulting in the loss of hundreds of lives.”
Before Salepour emerged, members of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee said Boeing needed to do more to improve its safety culture.
Two crashes involving the 737 MAX killed 346 people, and panelists issued a report in February criticizing some of the company’s safety practices.
U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell said she expected Boeing to submit a serious plan in response to a deadline set by regulator the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
In late February, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Boeing must develop a comprehensive plan to address “systemic quality control issues” within 90 days.
“I personally believe that Boeing’s recent manufacturing problems are just a symptom of a deeper problem, which is the destruction of a proper safety culture by executives obsessed with stock prices,” said U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth.
Boeing defended the safety of its twin-aisle jets in a statement on Wednesday, saying the global 787 fleet has safely transported more than 850 million passengers, while the 777 has safely transported more than 3.9 billion passengers.
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