Whistleblower alleges Spirit Aero 'let problems go'

BTN News
Saturday, 11 May 2024

Fuselages made by Boeing's supplier Spirit AeroSystems regularly had serious defects, according to former quality inspector Santiago Paredes, who worked at Spirit's Kansas facility, USA.


He told the BBC he had found multiple defects on parts to be shipped to plane maker Boeing.

Spirit has "strongly disagreed" with the allegations, saying it was "vigorously defending against his claims".

Paredes made the allegations against Spirit in an interview with the UK's BBC and the American network CBS, in which he described what he said he experienced while working at the firm between 2010 and 2022.

He said was accustomed to finding "anywhere from 50 to 100, 200" defects on fuselages, including "missing fasteners, bent parts, sometimes even missing parts".

Paredes said some defects were minor - but others were more serious.

Management "just wanted the product shipped out. They weren't focused on the consequences of shipping bad fuselages. They were just focused on meeting the quotas, meeting the schedule, meeting the budget … If the numbers looked good, the state of the fuselages didn't really matter," he alleged.

As BTN previously has reported, Spirit was once part of Boeing and remains the planemaker's primary supplier. It builds the fuselage for the 737 MAX at its factory in Kansas and also makes parts fo the B787.

Boeing currently is in talks to buy back its former subsidiary.

Whistleblower alleges Spirit Aero 'let problems go'

BTN News
Saturday, 11 May 2024

Fuselages made by Boeing's supplier Spirit AeroSystems regularly had serious defects, according to former quality inspector Santiago Paredes, who worked at Spirit's Kansas facility, USA.


He told the BBC he had found multiple defects on parts to be shipped to plane maker Boeing.

Spirit has "strongly disagreed" with the allegations, saying it was "vigorously defending against his claims".

Paredes made the allegations against Spirit in an interview with the UK's BBC and the American network CBS, in which he described what he said he experienced while working at the firm between 2010 and 2022.

He said was accustomed to finding "anywhere from 50 to 100, 200" defects on fuselages, including "missing fasteners, bent parts, sometimes even missing parts".

Paredes said some defects were minor - but others were more serious.

Management "just wanted the product shipped out. They weren't focused on the consequences of shipping bad fuselages. They were just focused on meeting the quotas, meeting the schedule, meeting the budget … If the numbers looked good, the state of the fuselages didn't really matter," he alleged.

As BTN previously has reported, Spirit was once part of Boeing and remains the planemaker's primary supplier. It builds the fuselage for the 737 MAX at its factory in Kansas and also makes parts fo the B787.

Boeing currently is in talks to buy back its former subsidiary.