WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 17: Witness Boeing engineer Sam Salehpour gestures while testifying before a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee on investigations hearing titled “Boeing’s broken safety culture, focusing on firsthand accounts” at the U.S. Capitol on April 17, 2024 in Washington, DC. In an interview with NBC News, Salehpour says that he thinks all 787 jets should be grounded to allow for proper safety checks of the plane, which has come under fire in recent months following a slew of incidents. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
OAN’s Abril Elfi
2:53 PM – Wednesday, April 17, 2024
A Boeing whistleblower testified before Congress after he was allegedly threatened by supervisors for raising safety concerns about one of their models.
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Boeing Quality Engineer Sam Salehpour testified to a United States subcommittee that his boss allegedly threatened him after he voiced his concerns over the 787 Dreamliner model for not being safe to operate.
“My boss said, ‘I would have killed someone who said what you said in the meeting,’” Salehpour testified. “This is not a safety culture when you get threatened by bringing up safety concerns.”
He was then asked if there is a “culture of retaliation” against whistleblowers at the company.
“Absolutely … The only reason I have my job [is] because I had my attorneys; we filed [via] the whistleblower system before I spoke up,” he said.
He also added that he was once hounded by his boss during a 40-minute phone call.
“They call you on your personal phone to let you know that they know where you live,” he said. “They know where you are. And they can hurt you.”
According to an expert senate witness, employees “hear safety is our number one priority, but what they see is that that’s only true as long as your production milestones are met.”
Two hearings regarding Boeing were held today by the US Senate.
Experts in aviation safety testified at the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee’s first hearing. Salehpour will be speaking at the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee for Investigations’ second hearing.
CEO of Boeing, Dave Calhoun, is unlikely to make an appearance. These hearings come after several safety-related incidents involving Boeing aircrafts had occured in the past few months, in addition to a recent Boeing whistleblower turning up dead after allegedly committing suicide.
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