Lecture Notes: Whistleblower Testimony in Boeing Hearing

Introduction

Speaker: Sam Salur, Quality Engineer at Boeing with 40 years of engineering experience.
Context: Testimony regarding safety concerns with Boeing's 787 and 777 aircraft.
Main Points of Discussion: Safety concerns, retaliation, company culture.

Senator Holly: Addressing questions to Sam Salur.
Sam Salur: Engineer raising safety issues.
Mark Stockton and Lisa Fall: High-ranking Boeing officials aware of the concerns.
Boss: Threatened and sidelined Salur for raising issues.

Aircraft Involved: 787 and 777 (referred to as Triple 7).
Main Issues Identified:
- 787 Program Issues:
  - Improperly measured and shimmed gaps in fuselage assembly.
  - Production shortcuts leading to increased risk factors.
  - 98.7% of inspected gaps exceeding specifications were not properly addressed.
  - Debris in gaps 80% of the time during assembly.
- 777 Program Issues:
  - Severe misalignment during assembly.
  - Excessive force used to correct misalignments.
  - Potential long-term weakening of aircraft due to flawed assembly processes.

Sideline and removal from meetings.
Transfer from 787 to 777 programs following raised concerns.
Direct threats and pressure from the boss.
Experienced continuous psychological pressure including calls on personal phone.
Creation of a hostile work environment to pressure Salur into silence.

Culture of retaliation against whistleblowers.
Experienced threats and intimidation tactics from superiors.
Comparison to Challenger disaster due to ignored safety concerns by past engineers.
Describes a deeply ingrained issue within Boeing's safety culture.
Importance of changing the internal culture for genuine safety.

Salur’s concern about Boeing's current safety practices increasing risk factors.
Lack of proper alignment between design and production processes.
Repeated instances of management ignoring serious safety reports.
Personal experiences of professional and personal threats and pressure.
Salur believes Boeing is effectively producing defective airplanes.

Senator Holly: Verifies sequence of events, asserts the seriousness of management’s negligence.
Senator Marshal: Addresses retaliation culture and the impact on whistleblowers. Asks about work life post-whistleblowing and understanding of structural issues.
Miscellaneous Comments:
- Debris and Gaps: Leads to long-term airplane fatigue failure.
- Excessive Force: Violates engineering principles and increases structural stress.
- Testing and Data Integrity: Questions about the validity and transparency of Boeing's stress tests.

Mr. Pearson: Discusses providing records to the FBI and the validity of Boeing’s testing data.
Senator Johnson: Inquires about overwritten maintenance records and transparency.
Senator Marshal: Proposes stress testing at Wichita State University to validate concerns.
General Sentiment: Calls for FAA and Department of Transportation to be more involved and responsive.

Message: Salur and other whistleblowers aim to prioritize safety to prevent potential failures and disasters.
Cultural Change: Highlighted necessity within Boeing for genuine safety culture implementation and retaliation prevention.