Boeing Whistleblower Speaks Out About 'Cover-Up' of Plane Incident

A Boeing whistleblower spoke up Wednesday about a "cover-up" of an incident involving one of the company's planes.

Ed Pierson, a former senior manager for Boeing, on Wednesday appeared before the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee to speak about several incidents involving Boeing planes.

During his testimony, Pierson spoke about the incident where a Boeing 737 MAX-9 plane, operated by Alaska Airlines, had a door panel break off shortly after take-off.

"I'm not gonna sugarcoat this, this is a criminal cover-up," Pierson said during his testimony. "A five-minute testimony is not nearly enough time to explain how insidious this story is. Boeing's corporate leaders continue to conceal the truth, they continue to mislead and deceive the public about the safety of planes."

In a statement to Newsweek, a spokesperson for Boeing said, "We take the FAA review panel's detailed assessment to heart and will act on their findings and feedback. Since 2020, Boeing has taken important steps to foster a safety culture that empowers and encourages all employees to raise their voice. We know we have more work to do and we are taking action across our company."

"More than 40,000 employees have participated in 'quality stand downs' at more than a dozen Boeing sites, providing tens of thousands of ideas for improving our production system and culture. We continue to put safety and quality above all else and share information transparently with our regulator, customers and other stakeholders," the spokesperson added.

The Context

Over the past several months, Boeing has faced scrutiny after some of their planes experienced an array of issues.

In January, a Boeing 737 MAX 9 operated by Alaska Airlines flying to Ontario, California, was forced to make an emergency landing at the Portland International Airport after a portion of its fuselage ripped off. In a statement following the incident, Alaska Airlines said that it was grounding all of its 737 MAX 9 planes.

"This remains a dynamic situation and we greatly appreciate the patience of our guests. We are notifying those whose flights are canceled and working to reaccommodate them," the statement said.

What We Know

Last month, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun announced that he was stepping down from his position at the end of the year, and in a letter to employees, he called the incident involving the Alaska Airlines flight a "watershed moment."

While speaking with CNBC's Squawk Box after announcing his decision, Calhoun said, "This company and our people have responded to the crisis like no group of employees I've ever seen or been around."

Views

Another Boeing whistleblower, Sam Salehpour, has called on the company to ground its 787 Dreamliner jets over safety concerns.

Salehpour told NBC News on Tuesday night, "The entire fleet worldwide, as far as I'm concerned right now, needs attention."

"You need to check your gaps and make sure that you don't have potential for premature failure," he added.

In a statement to Newsweek earlier on Wednesday a spokesperson for Boeing said: "We are fully confident in the 787 Dreamliner. These claims about the structural integrity of the 787 are inaccurate and do not represent the comprehensive work Boeing has done to ensure the quality and long-term safety of the aircraft."

What's next

Salehpour, Pierson and Shawn Pruchnicki, from Ohio State University's Center for Aviation Studies, appeared before the Senate Committee on Wednesday. Their testimonies are expected to continue throughout the day.

Update 4/17/24, 12:11 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.

Update 4/17/24, 12:54 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.

Update 4/18/24, 10:58 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include a statement from a Boeing spokesperson.