Year Before Ahmedabad Plane Crash, Whistleblower's Boeing 787 Dreamliner Flaw Claim
Despite being marketed as one of the safest and most advanced aircraft in the skies, the Dreamliner has been linked to several technical faults. In fact, the crash has put the spotlight on claims by a Boeing engineer last year, who said that the 787 Dreamliner suffers from assembly defects that threaten safety.
Whistleblower Sam Salehpour - who worked at Boeing for nearly two decades - accused the company of putting profit over safety, and retaliating against him after he raised concerns by "involuntarily" transferring him to the 777 program.
Attorneys for the whistleblower said, "Rather than heeding his warnings, Boeing prioritised getting the planes to market as quickly as possible, despite the known, well-substantiated issues Mr Salehpour raised."
He later told the US Senate about structural problems in the Dreamliner's fuselage and claimed that small gaps and improper assembly could cause early wear and possible structural failure.
Boeing had released a detailed defence of the aircraft, saying it is "fully confident" in the Dreamliner and denying charges it retaliated against the worker.
The Federal Aviation Administration launched an investigation based on Mr Salehpour's stunning claims. It later said the 787s in use at this time "are in compliance with current safety regulations".
In June last year, another whistleblower stepped forward, alleging he was retaliated against after flagging potentially dangerous manufacturing problems on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Richard Cuevas filed complaints with two US agencies alleging he was dismissed suddenly in March 2024 after raising concerns over manufacturing deviations in the forward pressure bulkhead, which is critical to managing pressure during flights, according to attorneys Katz Banks Kumin.
Cuevas worked as a contractor for Strom, who assigned him to Spirit AeroSystems, which builds fuselages for the Dreamliner.
His attorneys filed complaints with the Federal Aviation Administration and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, saying in the latter submission that Mr Cuevas believes that "based on his direct observations of glaring safety issues, that Boeing's and Spirit's statements to the public and investors about the safety of 787 Dreamliners are fraudulent."
The cause of the plane crash in Ahmedabad is still under investigation by Air India and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Boeing, meanwhile, has said 'ready to support' Air India over 787 Dreamliner crash.
The pilots gave a mayday call to the ATC soon after takeoff, however, there was no response after calls were made by the ATC. There is at least one survivor in the crash. Of the 242 people, 169 were Indian nationals, 53 were British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals.
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Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Air India plane crash: UK law firm supports British families over 'serious questions'
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel A London law firm on Thursday said it has been formally retained by a number of British families who lost loved ones in the London-bound Air India AI171 plane crash soon after take-off from Ahmedabad three weeks ago, to address "serious questions" once the preliminary report into the investigation is Law said its aviation team, supported by international experts in the field, are focussed on two specific areas of concern: the "cause of the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) deployment, and then the sequential loss of thrust in both engines".The firm's aviation partners, James Healy-Pratt and Owen Hanna, are said to be "working closely" with around 20 British families in relation to the coronial process as well as the London lawyers appointed by Air India and its aviation insurers dealing with interim payments."This is an incredibly sensitive time for the AI171 families, and we are supporting them through the various processes in the UK and the US," said Healy-Pratt."On the air safety aspects, our technical investigation team believes that the RAT was automatically deployed. This suggests a serious systems failure around the critical point of take-off," he said."Serious questions will need to be asked of both Air India and Boeing once the preliminary report is published in the coming weeks. The families of AI171 want truth and justice, and we stand in solidarity with them," he team leading the technical investigation is said to include a renowned aviation claimant barrister in England and Wales, John Kimbell KC, former US Navy aviator and aviation attorney Daniel T. Barks in Virginia - where Boeing is headquartered in the US, and a former UK Royal Air Force (RAF) fast jet and Boeing London Gatwick airport bound AI171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, had crashed near the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12. It resulted in the death of all but one of the 242 passengers and crew on board, as well as 19 deaths on the ground as it crashed into the hostel block of the city's BJ Medical told PTI that the law firm's focus is on the preliminary investigation report, which is expected later this month."We are preparing our families for several eventualities, depending on the evidence, because we've always been very clear that our advice is evidence based," explained the lawyer."We have focused on the reasons why the RAT deployed and the reasons why there was not enough thrust. Those are the two core issues our families need and want answers about, and that's what we hope the Black Boxes will reveal, and there'll be some mention of that in the preliminary accident report in 10 days' time," he on its findings, Healy-Pratt indicated that the "path to justice and truth" may well be in the High Court in London or in the US federal court of Virginia against Boeing."For some, financial justice is one part of what is owed to them and America generously provides financial justice to (impacted) families... and it could be that financial justice was in the region of 8 to 10 million dollars per lost loved one. And, that is very different from average financial justice in England or average financial justice in India," said Law began by advising impacted families based in the UK and is now said to be approached by some in India too. Asked if there were any procedural concerns at this stage, Healy-Pratt said he had come across only "simple factual information" being sought from the families at this stage."We don't think that they are signing away any rights. The families have concerns about the identification process in London, because there have been issues with some of the repatriation for the loved ones," he said."They have also got issues with the silence around the investigation. They want to know why their loved ones lost their lives... a lot of them are very angry because they can't believe their loved ones have died. They want justice and they want truth, and so that's what we're doing to help them," he UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch and Disaster Victim Identification have been assisting the Indian authorities with the technical safety investigation as well as the DNA identification as 52 British nationals are among the victims of the tragedy.
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
UK law firm backs families of Ahmedabad plane crash's British victims
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Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Air India terminates Delhi-Washington flight in Vienna, cancels return flight
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel An Air India flight from Delhi to Washington, which took off on July 2, could not complete its journey after it developed a technical glitch during a scheduled refuelling stopover in Vienna, the Tata Group-owned airline said on its return flight from Washington to Delhi, scheduled on July 2, was also late, frequent delays and cancellations of long-haul flights by Air India have been causing severe inconvenience to to Air India statement, "Flight AI103 from Delhi to Washington, D.C. on July 2 made a planned fuel stop in Vienna. During routine aircraft checks, an extended maintenance task was identified, which required rectification before the next flight and, thus, additional time for completion."The airline further said as Vienna to Washington leg was cancelled, alternative arrangements were made for the stranded eligible for visa-free entry or those with valid Schengen visas were provided hotel accommodations in Vienna until the next available flight, as per the passengers without Schengen visas, accommodation was arranged, in liaison with immigration and security clearances by Austrian authorities, while others were rebooked on alternative flights, Air India said in the airline said the passengers of the Washington-Delhi flight AI104 via Vienna were also rebooked on alternative flights to Delhi or offered full refunds based on their to the closure of Pakistan airspace, west-bound flights from India are taking a longer route, requiring a halt in Vienna to meet crew duty and rest period an Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad on June 12, in which over 250 people were killed onboard and on the ground, aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered enhanced safety inspection of the airline's Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet powered by GEnx engines. PTI
