A Boeing contractor says he was fired after elevating security issues

An plane mechanic employed to restore Boeing planes has claimed he was known as a “snitch” after which fired for talking out about security issues.

Richard Cuevas claimed to have witnessed substandard manufacturing and upkeep work on a vital part of Boeing 787 plane.

Boeing, which faces questions on whether or not its security tradition is sufficiently stringent, stated the problems have been investigated and “posed no security issues.”

Attorneys representing Mr. Cuevas alleged that he reported vital issues that might pose a severe danger to public security and filed complaints with the Federal Aviation Administration and Occupational Well being and Security Administration.

Mr. Cuevas, who has labored within the aviation business for 40 years, was below contract with Spirit Aerosystems to work on the Boeing 787’s ahead stress bulkhead, a dome within the nostril of the aircraft that acts as a bulkhead.

“He acknowledged the substandard work and expressed concern,” Mr. Cuevas’ attorneys stated. “However Spirit and Boeing did not cease the defective manufacturing operations.”

In line with authorized filings, one colleague stated, “We now have a snitch amongst us.”

He was fired by Spirit Aerosystems in March 2024, Mr. Cuevas stated.

Boeing informed the BBC: “An worker of a subcontractor beforehand reported issues to us, which we investigated totally, as we take any security situation significantly.”

Nevertheless, the problems raised have been discovered to not characterize security issues and have been addressed, Boeing stated.

Joe Buccino, a spokesman for Spirit AeroSystems, stated the corporate is “trying into the matter.”

“We encourage all Spirit staff with issues to return ahead, secure within the information that they are going to be protected,” he stated.

Cuevas’ attorneys, Debra Katz and Lisa Banks, beforehand represented one other Boeing whistleblower, Sam Salehpour, who informed the US Congress earlier this 12 months that he had been harassed and threatened after he alleged there have been high quality issues at Boeing.

Salehpur’s issues additionally targeted on the manufacturing of the Boeing 787.

This can be a completely different mannequin from the 737 Max, whose cabin exploded in mid-air in January.

This accident led to elevated scrutiny of Boeing’s security requirements.

In April, Boeing stated it had seen a pointy improve within the variety of staff talking out after it gave assurances that there could be no retaliation.

Boeing stated this means progress towards a “robust reporting tradition.”

“We proceed to place security and high quality above all else and share info transparently with regulators, clients and different stakeholders,” the corporate stated.