Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Announces Inquiry into Boeing

[WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Chairman Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Ranking Member Ron Johnson (R-WI) announced that they are examining troubling whistleblower allegations regarding the safety of Boeing’s aircraft. The whistleblower, Sam Salehpour, an engineer at Boeing, is set to testify before the Subcommittee at a hearing next week regarding Boeing’s broken safety culture.

“The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has recently obtained information from a whistleblower at the Boeing Company alleging alarming and dangerous manufacturing deficiencies that ‘are creating potentially catastrophic safety risks.’ We write to request Boeing’s immediate cooperation with the Subcommittee’s review of these troubling allegations and Boeing’s culture of safety in light of recent incidents,” wrote Blumenthal and Johnson to Boeing’s CEO David Calhoun on March 19, 2024 following the Subcommittee’s receipt of information from Salehpour. The Subcommittee has also requested testimony from Calhoun.

Today, the New York Times made public Salehpour’s disclosures relating to the manufacturing and assembly of Boeing 787 airplanes, as well as Boeing’s alleged retaliation against the whistleblower for raising concerns.  

Blumenthal and Johnson sent a separate letter to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), requesting information regarding the whistleblower’s disclosures and Boeing aircraft safety.

The full text of the letter to Boeing can be found here. The full text of the letter to the FAA can be found here.

-30-