Whistleblowers and an expert panel were summoned to Congress for back to back hearings. A group of whistleblowers, people who inform that a company or person is performing illegal activity, snitched on Boeing to Congress. Sam Salehpour, a former Beoing engineer, claimed that the Boeing 787 Dreamliner could “drop to the ground” mid-flight. 

During the hearing Salehpour said, “They are putting out defective planes.” The manufacturers were “pushing pieces together with excessive force.” Salehpour was threatened by Boeing: “My boss said, ‘I would’ve killed someone who had said what you said.’”

Ed Pierson, another whistleblower and former manager in Boeing, said during the hearing, that “nothing changed after two crashes. Not a single person from Boeing went to jail. Hundreds of people died, and there’s been no justice.”

Pierson stated, “Government authorities ignored the Boeing manufacturing problems till the Alaska accident.” The FAA launched a massive investigation on Boeing following the Alaskan Airlines flight 1282 door plug incident. The FBI even told passengers of the flight that they might be “a possible victim of a crime.” 

Boeing worked to reassure its investors and passengers that, “these claims about the structural integrity of the 787 are inaccurate. The issues raised have been subject to rigorous engineering examination under FAA oversight.”