‘DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT’

Boeing’s Dreamliner Factory in South Carolina Hit With Complaints of Bad Safety Practices

Safety lapses mean that shards of metal and tools have been left in sensitive areas of Dreamliners built at troubled plant.

An expose by the New York Times outlines a series of troubling concerns at Boeing’s South Carolina factory where the 787 Dreamliners are made. The paper reports that workers have filed “whistle-blower” safety complaints with federal regulators over “defective manufacturing, debris left on planes and pressure to not report violations.” Qatar Airways has even stopped taking planes built in the troubled factory. Some workers who left the plant told regulators that they refuse to fly on the planes after supervisors told them, “Don’t worry about it.” Among the claims are the use of faulty parts installed on aircraft. “Tools and metal shavings have routinely been left inside jets, often near electrical systems. Aircraft have taken test flights with debris in an engine and a tail, risking failure,” the Times charges. “Employees have found a ladder and a string of lights left inside the tails of planes, near the gears of the horizontal stabilizer.” Speaking to one employee who was fired, such shoddy practices “could have locked up the gears.” Boeing spokesman Gordon Johndroe, told the Times, “We prioritize safety and quality over speed, but all three can be accomplished while still producing one of the safest airplanes flying today.”

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