2024-05-10 01:11:06
Play video “Whistleblower claims Boeing supplier sent faulty parts”, 방송 길이 1.3301:33
video description, Santiago Paredes claims Spirit Aerosystems supplied ‘defective parts’ to Boeing
Item information
- journalist, Theo Leggett
- journalist, BBC News, economics journalist
-
an hour ago
A former quality inspector at Spirit Aerosystems, Boeing’s largest supplier, revealed that Spirit-made fuselages often left the factory with serious defects.
Santiago Paredes, who worked at Spirit Aerosystems (hereinfollowing referred to as Spirit) in Kansas, said in an interview with the BBC that he often found up to 200 defects in the parts he planned to deliver to Boeing.
Paredes claimed that the process of fixing these problems slowed down production, earning him the nickname “showstopper.”
Spirit said it “totally disagrees” with the claims.
A spokesperson for Spirit, Boeing’s largest supplier, said: “We completely disagree with Santiago Paredes’ assertions.”
Paredes raised the allegations regarding Spirit in an exclusive interview with the BBC and its US partner CBS. The basis for this was professional experience from 2010 to 2022.
Paredes said he often saw “50 to 100,200” defects in the fuselages of planes destined for Boeing.
“In many cases, locks were missing, parts were bent, or even parts were missing completely. »
Boeing declined to comment.
‘repulsion’
Last January, there was an accident on the new Boeing 737 Max model where an unused door (door plug) was torn off immediately following takeoff, creating a large hole in the side of the plane’s fuselage. Spirit and Boeing have been under intense investigation ever since. According to investigators, the door plug in question was originally installed by Spirit, but was removed by Boeing engineers while correcting an improper riveting process.
The accident prompted the US regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration, to launch an audit of Boeing and Spirit’s production systems. As a result, several cases were discovered in which both companies did not follow manufacturing management principles.
Paredes told the BBC that while there had been minor problems during his time at Spirit, there were also more serious problems.
They also said they were pressured not to carry out tests that were too rigorous.
“Other employees were always very reluctant to understand why I discovered the defect and why I looked into it,” Paredes said.
Also: “Other people were just thinking regarding delivery. There was no interest in the consequences of delivering a defective fuselage. “We only focused on meeting the quota, the schedule and the budget… As long as the numbers were correct, the condition of the fuselage was not that important,” he said.
denunciation
Many of Paredes’ experiences at Spirit have been cited as testimony in lawsuits filed once morest the company by disgruntled shareholders.
However, in related legal documents, Paredes is simply referred to as “Former Employee 1.” This is the first time Paredes, a former Air Force engineer, has spoken publicly.
Before leaving Spirit, Paredes led an inspection team through the final stages of the 737 Max production line.
These allegations were also cited in the lawsuit by another former quality inspector, Joshua Dean, who died last week from a serious bacterial infection.
The suit alleges that Spirit intentionally attempted to conceal serious and widespread quality defects and caused financial losses to shareholders when these defects were revealed. Spirit said it “completely disagrees” with that assertion.
Financial support from Boeing
Spirit is a spinoff from Boeing and remains a major supplier to Boeing.
The company builds the fuselages for each 737 Max at its factory in Wichita, Kansas, then ships them to Boeing’s own facility in Renton, Washington, near Seattle. It also manufactures many parts for the 787 Dreamliner.
The Spirit is now in a difficult situation. Cash is bleeding, with a loss of $617 million (around KRW 843.4 billion) between January and March this year alone.
Boeing has agreed to provide financial support and is in negotiations to buy Spirit.
According to sources within aerospace giant Boeing, efforts are underway to resolve the Spirit’s quality issues. In particular, they claim to have succeeded in reducing defects in parts shipped from the Wichita factory by around 80%.
Paredes said both companies were aware of the extent of the defect problem and that quality inspectors from both companies discussed the issue in weekly meetings.
“Last cry for help”
For Paredes, the problem became even more serious when his manager ordered him to change the method of defect reporting to reduce the total number of defects.
Paredes said that following protesting the directive, he was demoted and transferred to another department at the plant.
“I felt threatened and retaliated once morest for raising the issue,” he said.
Paredes then filed an “ethics complaint” with Spirit’s human resources team and sent an email to Tom Gentile, Spirit’s CEO at the time.
“I have lost confidence in the quality organization at Spirit and this is my last cry for help,” Paredes said in an email.
Subsequently, some grievances were accepted and he was able to reinstate his management position, and his unpaid salaries were also returned to him. However, he left Spirit shortly following.
Paredes says he doesn’t want to fly the 737 Max because defects from the Wichita factory might still be present.
“Until I started working at Spirit, I never saw many people afraid of flying,” Paredes said.
“But working at Spirit, I met a lot of people who were reluctant to fly. “Because I observed how the fuselage was made.”
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