Yahoo Finance Whistleblower Says Defective Plane Parts Regularly Left Factory for Boeing: Report
Santiago Paredes claims he was nicknamed "Showstopper" for attempting to raise concerns about the product flaws
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A stock image of a Boeing aircraftA whistleblower is claiming that it was a regular occurrence for defective plane parts to make it off the production line of one of Boeing's largest suppliers, according to a new report.
In a joint interview with the BBC and CBS, Santiago Paredes revealed he often found up to 200 defects on individual items produced by Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kan., a major airline parts provider for the company.
Paredes, who worked with the company from 2010 to 2022, claimed he found "anywhere from 50 to 100, 200" defects, specifically on fuselages due to be shipped to Boeing.
"I was finding a lot of missing fasteners, a lot of bent parts, sometimes even missing parts," he added of the manufacturing issues.
Paredes was cited as "Former Employee 1" in a lawsuit against Spirit, brought by its shareholders.
Boeing tells PEOPLE in a statement, "We have been working closely with Spirit AeroSystems and its leadership to strengthen the quality of the commercial airplanes that we build together." They also confirmed "preliminary discussions about making Spirit AeroSystems a part of Boeing again."
"We believe that the reintegration of Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems' manufacturing operations would further strengthen aviation safety, improve quality and serve the interests of our customers, employees, and shareholders," the statement continued.
Boeing notes that "Although there can be no assurance that we will be able to reach an agreement, we are committed to finding ways to continue to improve the safety and quality of the airplanes on which millions of people depend each and every day."
The company also highlighted a recent International Air Transport Association (IATA) report that found 2023 to be the safest year for commercial aviation.
PEOPLE reached out to Spirit AeroSystems directly for comment as well, but they did not immediately respond.
Related: 2 Planes Fall Out of the Sky — Killing Hundreds — and New Documentary Investigates How
Spirit Aerosystems told the BBC they "strongly disagree" with the allegations raised by Paredes, and maintained that they are "vigorously defending against his claims."
Paredes joins a line of Boeing-tied whistleblowers revealing alleged quality control issues in parts used by the company on their aircraft in 2024. This includes John Barnett, a former quality control manager for Boeing who was found dead on March 9 in Charleston, S.C., of an apparent suicide, and Joshua Dean, a former quality auditor at Spirit AeroSystems who died on April 30, after experiencing a sudden illness.
Furthermore, the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating Boeing due to allegations that the company reported falsified aircraft inspections by some of their employees.
The former Spirit employee stated during his joint BBC and CBS interview that some defects were minor, but others were much more serious. He also noted how he was pressured to have less scrutiny toward quality control during his tenure with the company.
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"They always made a fuss about why I was finding it, why I was looking at it," he said, adding that he was given the nickname "Showstopper" for slowing down production in an effort to be more cautious.
Related: Nose Wheel of Boeing Jet Falls Off Just Before Takeoff in Atlanta
Paredes further claimed, "They 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."
According to the report, Paredes stated that his manager ordered him to alter how defects in parts were reported in an effort to lower the overall number of issues. He claimed that when he protested the change, he was demoted and moved to another part of the factory.
"I felt I was being threatened, and I felt I was being retaliated against for raising concerns," he said. As a result, Paredes said he filed an "ethics complaint" against the company, addressing their human resources department and Spirit's then-chief executive, Tom Gentile. He stated that in his email, he told coworkers he had "lost faith on the quality organization here at Spirit and this is my last cry for help."
Paredes claimed his complaint was partially upheld, resulting in him being reinstated in his former role and given back pay. However, he ultimately decided to leave the company, noting that he's hesitant to fly on any Boeing 737 Max aircraft, on the chance that it contains parts from the Wichita Spirit AeroSystems factory.
He said, "I'd never met a lot of people who were scared of flying until I worked at Spirit," adding, "And then, being at Spirit, I met a lot of people who were afraid of flying — because they saw how they were building the fuselages."
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