New Boeing Whistleblower Warns of Potentially 'Devastating Consequences' From Plane Flaws (gizmodo.com) 38
A former Boeing contractor has filed complaints with federal agencies, alleging safety issues in 787 Dreamliner production and wrongful termination. Richard Cuevas, a veteran mechanic, claims he observed improper drilling of fastener holes in forward pressure bulkheads during his work with Spirit AeroSystems, Boeing's main supplier.
Cuevas warned that these defects could compromise aircraft safety. After reporting concerns to the FAA and his superiors, Cuevas says he was fired. His lawyers have urged investigations into Dreamliner bulkheads and claim unlawful retaliation. Boeing stated they investigated the concerns thoroughly and determined no safety risk.
Cuevas warned that these defects could compromise aircraft safety. After reporting concerns to the FAA and his superiors, Cuevas says he was fired. His lawyers have urged investigations into Dreamliner bulkheads and claim unlawful retaliation. Boeing stated they investigated the concerns thoroughly and determined no safety risk.
O... kay (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:O... kay (Score:5, Insightful)
One that's been taken over by beancounters who think everything but sales drones is a cost to be hated, on the other hand...
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Boeing starts to remind me of OceanGate.
Re:O... kay (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:O... kay (Score:5, Informative)
The president of Boeing during arguably it's golden age of engineering -- 1945-1969 -- was a *lawyer*. William Allen had spent fourteen years as corporate counsel when the Boeing chairman,Claire Egtvedt ( who *was* an engineer), asked him to become president. Allen initially refused, because he felt he did know enough to run the company. Think about what that refusal says about that man's character and intellect. Egtvedt kept on him and finally Allen relented, leading Boeing through the transition from piston driven prop planes to jets, starting with the B-47 and B-52 and ending with the 747.
WIth all the wonderful things about running a business you can learn at a business school, one thing they don't seem to teach is humility. Egtvedt understood that no one person had the breadth of engineering expertise to micromanage everything a company like Boeing did. He needed someone who would respect and listen to the best engineering minds across the company, and it wasn't strictly necessary for someone to be an engineer to do that. A great engineering company needs a really smart leader who doesn't need to be seen as the smartest guy in the room, more than they need a leader with specific technical expertise.
Re:O... kay (Score:5, Insightful)
I think you are spot on and it reminds me of the "I talk to the customers so the enginners dont have to!" [youtube.com] scene in Office Space and the beancounters laugh it off but a good manager would recognize that person is really important to have.
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I have people skills. Can't you understand that? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE???
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To be fair the poor guy just couldn't defend his job very well. Hope his game company is doing well though!
Re:O... kay (Score:4, Informative)
Exactly. And two of the bad CEOs Boeing had - Philip Condit and Dennis Muilenburg - were both aerospace engineers who have started their engineering career at Boeing before becoming execs there.
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Allen knew enough to know that he didn't know enough of the core (engineering) that Boeing did.
Later when he was running the show, he made it a point to listen to engineers (like I said, something he knows that he didn't know much of).so that he knows what was going on on the floor and what is needed.
He is probably the exception compared to the average business/lawyer/finance person running an engineering firm.
Re:O... kay (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: O... kay (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re: O... kay (Score:3, Interesting)
Firing? You mean murdering them? The last 2 whistleblowers in this case happened to have some serious fatal accidents. And similar things happened in the last scandal. When you cross the people deeply entrenched in government pork you tend to find yourself on the short end of a pointy stick.
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A company probably shouldn't have a habit of firing people for voicing safety concerns, regardless of merit.
You're thinking in terms of logic. Boeing execs think in terms of "how do we profit from this and how do we cover our asses while doing it?" Someone pointed out something that could have a short-term negative impact on the bottom line if it were addressed properly. Throw them out. They have missed the corporate message. That's it. That's the end of it. There's no deeper logic behind it.
It's a shitty look, but it's not like it's a new one.
The F8 of the Incurious (Score:2)
RIP (Score:2)
Dead in 3...2...
Re: RIP (Score:2)
Where have I heard this before? (Score:4, Funny)
"They stated that they investigated the concerns thoroughly and determined no safety risk."
Re:Where have I heard this before? (Score:4, Informative)
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"They stated that they investigated the concerns thoroughly and determined no safety risk."
Of course not, they have a safety factor of 3! [youtube.com]
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Why go to all the expense of a genuine safety check when you can just ask ChatGPT for one:
> Write an executive summary of a plane safety report ending with "They stated that they investigated the concerns thoroughly and determined no safety risk."
ChatGPT:
Executive Summary
This report outlines the findings from the recent safety inspection conducted on Flight XYZ123, operated by ABC Airlines. The inspection was prompted by multiple passenger complaints regarding unusual noises and vibrations experienced du
Serious consequences for this whistleblower (Score:4, Insightful)
Anyone wanna take bets on how this guy goes out... shoots himself in the back of the head? sudden heart attack? or stuffs himself in a barrel and throws himself off a bridge?
Re:Serious consequences for this whistleblower (Score:5, Funny)
Anyone wanna take bets on how this guy goes out... shoots himself in the back of the head? sudden heart attack? or stuffs himself in a barrel and throws himself off a bridge?
How about "falls out of a Boeing airplane"? :-]
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* Allegedly
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"It's the darndest thing, I tells'ya. This man threw himself at the wall so hard he cracked all his ribs. Then he threw himself at the *ceiling* and fractured his skull. After that he smacked hisself on all four walls in his room and broke all his arms and legs. After that, he crawled - on his broken arms and legs! - and threw hisself out the window, died on the ground twenty floors below. I tells'ya, if a man wants to kill himelf so bad, there's just no stopping it"
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HAHAHA! (Score:3)
Boeing stated they investigated the concerns thoroughly and determined no safety risk.
Riiiiight. Just like all the other safety concerns that definitely weren't an issue and haven't made headlines repeatedly. What kind of idiot would take Boeing at their word at this stage in the game?
Boeing is the sum of all Kafka novels. (Score:2)
Well it could have very positive consequences (Score:2)
Just imagine, for a moment, that all planes would have severe defects and that the probability of a plane crash is something like 50%. In such a world there would be far fewer planes in the air, causing much less CO2. This could delay many problems relating to the climate catastrophe.
Who are you gonna trust? (Score:3)
Help (Score:2)
Remember: Spirit Used To Be Part of Boeing (Score:2)
Of course it is their main supplier. The plants that are now Spirit used to be Boeing's own supply plants. Then they got "spun off" into a captive supply company allowing them to shed union contracts, pay scales, and safety and other oversight, thus cutting prices while allowing exec to pocket fat bonuses for the revenue brought by the financial engineering of the sale.