Boeing whistleblower told Congress his boss threatened him after speaking up in a meeting

“I have a very negative attitude towards the quality concerns,” whistleblower and quality engineer Sam Salehpour testified. “When I bring something to my boss to say ‘we have problems with this,’ he prevents me from even documenting and prevents me from even sending the information to the subject matters experts.”

Mr Salehpour also said his boss had previously threatened him for speaking up about safety concerns in a company meeting.

Sam Salehpour, the Boeing quality engineer and whistleblower threatened by his boss for speaking up, said an impending disaster is increasingly likely — it’s just a matter of when it occurs.

“One could compare it to something a little bit like Russian roulette,” he testified. “We never know exactly when it’s going to happen, when or where or how it’s going to happen.”

As both US Senate hearings on Boeing safety measures conclude, catch up on whistleblower Sam Salehpour’s shocking account of intimidation and threatening behaviour he faced:

Senator Tammy Duckworth — Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety and Security — said Boeing’s stated commitments to safety don’t match up with their actual actions.

“Boeing says it prioritizes safety above all else,” Ms Duckworth said at the Wednesday morning hearing. “But when the expert panel asked Boeing to produce evidence of this commitment, the evidence that Boeing provided ‘did not provide objective evidence of a foundational commitment to safety that matches Boeing’s descriptions of that objective.’

“That should be shocking,” she said.

She also criticised the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

“When the FAA finally found out that Boeing had been knowingly and repeatedly violating its approved type design, the FAA did nothing,” Ms Duckworth said.

“When the FAA fails to take action in response to bad behaviour, it sends an unmistakable message to both Boeing and its employees: That bad behaviour is acceptable.”

“Do you think that there was a culture of retaliation against whistleblowers?” Senator Roger Marshall asked Sam Salehpour, whistleblower and Boeing quality engineer.

“Absolutely,” Mr Salehpour responded. The Boeing engineer explained the only reason he still has a job is because his attorneys helped him.

Mr Salehpour also described a 40-minute phone call berating him and threatening him for speaking up.

“They call you on your personal phone to let you know that they know where you live,” he said of Boeing. “They know where you are. And they can hurt you. And you know, after the threats...it really scares me, believe me, but I am at peace.

“You know, if something happens to me, I am at peace because I feel like by coming forward, I will be saving a lot of lives and my piece whatever happens it happens,” Mr Salehpour continued.

“Within the aeroplane world you have to look at what’s happening and go how comfortable am I flying in this aeroplane versus that aeroplane? For me personally, I keep track of what’s happening on the [737 Max] for obvious reasons, and I’m worried about what’s happening on the [737 Max],” aviation safety expert Javier de Luis testified.

“Now if I had to fly somewhere, because there was, there was no other option,” Dr de Luis continued. “I would absolutely fly it versus driving for example because I can make that trade.”

Shawn Pruchnicki said Boeing’s series of alarming events are a first in his decades of work in aviation and aerospace safety.

“There does not appear to be any evidence of changes to any of the components on the horizon as a string of alarming events continued to unfold,” Dr Pruchnicki testified. “In safety engineering work, we call these precursors to accidents. I have never in my decades of Aerospace Safety work seen so many continuing to arrive one after another.”

Dr Pruchnicki is an aviation accident investigator and former commercial pilot. He is also a professional practice assistant professor of integrated systems engineering at The Ohio State University.

A Boeing whistleblower said at a senate hearing that he has faced threats and verbal abuse after he spoke up about safety issues at the planemaker.

Quality engineer Sam Salehpour was asked on Wednesday if there’s a “culture of retaliation” against whistleblowers at Boeing.

“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.

Mr Salehpour added that he was once berated 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.”

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