They say they just want to make sure the planes don’t crash.
Two former employees of Boeing and its key contractor have told The Post that – despite the deaths of two whistleblowers within two months this year – they are more determined than ever to tell the truth about what they allege are dangerous practices at the once-great but now scandal-scarred manufacturer.
Roy Irvin, a veteran of Boeing, and Santiago Paredes, who worked at Spirit AeroSystems (not to be confused with Spirit Airlines) are just two of at least 20 whistleblowers in the process of making their concerns about safety and quality issues at the aerospace giant public.
Their testimony comes after years of Boeing being dogged by whistleblower testimony and congressional investigations.
A scathing House Transportation and Infrastructure report in September 2020 found that two 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 were the “horrific culmination” of “repeated and serious failures” by the company and regulators.
Then in January, a fuselage “plug” blew off a new Alaskan Airlines Boeing 737 MAX-9 at 10,000ft.
A whistleblower told The Seattle Times that the fault lay with Boeing because after the fuselage was delivered by its manufacturer Spirit, a panel had been removed at Boeing’s Renton, Washington, factory and reinstalled without four crucial bolts.
Now Irvin and Paredes are speaking out.
From 2011 until 2017, Irvin was a quality investigator at Boeing in North Charleston, SC, trying to ensure that $250-million-dollar 787 Dreamliner planes were ready to be put to work before they left the factory. He began at the company in 2009.
Irvin said he “pushed back” almost every day at serious safety and quality issues he found on planes that had left the factory floor and were on the “flight line,” meaning they were supposed to have been checked and found to be good to go.
But, alleges Irvin, they weren’t and he was often forced to be “insubordinate” because of how many times he called out the problems he saw.
“Missing safety devices on hardware or untightened hardware means that you’re not going to be able to control the airplane if those fail,” Irvin told The Post.
“The safety device is on there. If the fastener is not secured correctly, it’s going to fall off and you’re not gonna be able to control the airplane.”
Irvin worked with Boeing whistleblower John Barnett, 62, who was found dead on March 9 in a hotel parking lot in South Carolina, his silver pistol in his hand, after he failed to show up for the second part of his testimony for a bombshell lawsuit against the company. Police ruled that Barnett died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Then Joshua Dean, 45, a former quality auditor at Spirit AeroSystems, died in early May from a fast-growing infection.
The deaths may, paradoxically, have empowered others to come forward.
Brian Knowles, a Charleston, SC, attorney who represents whistleblowers including Irvin and Paredes and also represented the late Barnett and Dean, told The Post his law firm has fielded dozens of new calls from potential whistleblowers in recent weeks.
“Most of the people we’re hearing from are current employees,” he said. “These are not disgruntled employees.
“In many cases they love the company. It’s not about bringing down the company – it’s about getting it back on track.
“Boeing says they are open to hearing criticisms but in reality they are not being addressed internally and many are retaliated against for speaking out.”
Paredes was a production inspector for Spirit AeroSystems for 12 years before leaving in 2022.
He told The Post he was shocked when he arrived at the company and, he alleges, saw hundreds of defects on the production line. He was even more horrified, he said, when was pressured not to say anything.
“I was at the end of the production line and so I was supposed to be looking at the finished product before they shipped it to Boeing.” Paredes said.
“Instead I saw missing parts, incomplete parts, frames that had temporary clamps and missing fasteners, dents in the parts, damaged parts, cut rivets, issues that might occur but should be fixed before they got to me.
“Everything I was seeing was like a ticking time bomb.”
His bosses, he alleged, would pressure him to keep his reports to a minimum – and nicknamed him “Showstopper” because his write-ups on the defects would often delay deliveries.
“They always said they didn’t have time to fix the mistakes,” said Paredes. “They needed to get the planes out.
“I also was afraid to look at the news every day and see that something had happened to a plane in the air. It was a nightmare.”
Barnett, who had worked for Boeing for 32 years, was found dead in his Dodge Ram truck holding a silver pistol in his hand in the parking lot of his South Carolina hotel after he failed to show up for the second part of his testimony for a bombshell lawsuit against the company. Courtesy of the Barnett Family
Spirit AeroSystems spokesman Joe Buccino said Spirit “encourages people to come forward with concerns and we’ve made it easier to do that.”
A Boeing spokeswoman emailed a statement that read in part: “Boeing takes very seriously any allegation of improper work or unethical behavior.
“We continuously encourage employees to report concerns as our priority is to ensure the safety of our airplanes and the flying public, and we will take any necessary action to ensure our airplanes meet regulatory requirements.
“Boeing employees can anonymously report concerns through our Speak Up portal or directly to the FAA.”
Both men who spoke to The Post said they were not afraid about speaking out, despite conspiracy theories that took root after the deaths of Barnett and Dean.
As for Irvin, he said, “I’m always looking behind my mirror to make sure nobody’s car’s following me.
“I’m not a conspiracy theorist… but I talked to [Barnett] about a week before he passed away. I can’t imagine him giving up like that. Even if he had other problems. I think he would have fought this to the end.
“I’m not gonna say I don’t believe it (the suicide), but it really doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t add up. You can quote me on that.”
