Senator calls out Boeing, FAA after midflight panic, whistleblower suicide

Sen. Chuck Grassley launched a probe into Boeing and the FAA over safety concerns, citing Boeing’s history of disasters and recent incidents such as a door panel detaching from a Boeing 737 Max mid-flight.

Grassley demanded explanations and improved oversight from both entities, highlighting issues with quality control.

“Boeing enjoys billions of taxpayer dollars every year, and thousands of Americans rely on Boeing aircrafts to get from Point A to B every day,” Grassley said. “By cutting corners or turning a blind eye to glaring problems, Boeing puts passengers’ safety at serious risk.”

“Had this happened at cruising altitude the results might have been catastrophic,” Grassley wrote.

“Boeing is given great responsibility to build the planes that Americans rely on every day, and the FAA is entrusted to ensure they do it safely,” he wrote. “Boeing’s track record, as well as recent reports, demonstrate that aircraft safety has not been the paramount concern and the FAA has provided insufficient oversight to ensure that it is.”

“The FAA ought to do the job taxpayers are paying the agency to do by keeping the pressure up on its scrutiny of Boeing and holding the company accountable for aviation safety failures that employees, as well as bipartisan lawmakers including myself, are bringing to light,” he said.

Allegations of whistleblower retaliation and concerns over counterfeit materials have also emerged, with the FAA currently investigating unverified titanium in Boeing’s supply chain.

Boeing has faced great scrutiny for wear-and-tear issues and mishaps like fasteners on Dreamliner jets amid ongoing investigations.

“Mr. Barnett’s last words make clear that while Boeing may not have pulled the trigger, the company is responsible for his death,” whistleblower John Barnett’s lawyers, Robert Turkewitz and Brian Knowles, stated jointly.

“Bury me face down so Boeing and their lying [expletive] leaders can kiss my [expletive],” Barnett wrote in his suicide note.

“Boeing reported a voluntary disclosure to the FAA regarding procurement of material through a distributor who may have falsified or provided incorrect records,” the FAA stated. “Boeing issued a bulletin outlining ways suppliers should remain alert to the potential of falsified records.”