Boeing Whistleblower To Testify Wednesday

A retired Boeing Co BA senior manager will testify Wednesday before Congress about concerns he said he expressed internally months ago about possible safety problems with the 737 Max aircraft — concerns he said went largely unheeded.

Whistleblower Ed Pierson, who will testify Wednesday before the House Transportation Committee, told The New York Times he urged Boeing to shut down the Max production line over his concerns, but said no changes were made.

The plane has been grounded since shortly after a March 2019 crash in Ethiopia that followed an October 2018 crash of the same jet model in Indonesia. The two crashes together killed 346 people.

Pierson told the Times that employees working on the 737 Max program were overworked and making mistakes due to exhaustion. The two jets that crashed were built during the time Pierson was raising concerns about potential safety issues, he said.

Pierson did not raise concerns about the particular system linked to the crashes, a guidance system known as MCAS.

Pierson said he raised concerns with Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg, board members and company lawyers.

He retired in August 2018, before the first crash, in part because he wasn't comfortable with the conditions at Boeing.

Boeing's Response

The company rejects Pierson's linking of perceived production safety issues with the crashes.

“The suggestion by Mr. Pierson of a link between his concerns and the recent Max accidents is completely unfounded,” Boeing spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in a statement to the Times.

“None of the authorities investigating these accidents have found that production conditions in the 737 factory contributed in any way to these accidents.”

Boeing shares were down 0.91% at $348.01 before the close Tuesday.

Related Links:

FAA Head: Plane Approval Process Needs To Be More Holistic, Cooperative

Boeing: 737 MAX Deliveries Could Resume In December 

Photo by SounderBruce via Wikimedia.