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Thursday, August 21, 2025

Whistleblower raised safety fears over Boeing Dreamliner factory - The Telegraph

A whistleblower raised safety concerns about a factory that makes Boeing’s Dreamliner model, which crashed in India on Thursday.

John Barnett alleged that the company had attempted to “eliminate” quality checks at the factory where he worked in North Carolina.

Mr Barnett, who was found dead in March aged 62, accused the company of “countless” violations of US law.

His claims included that paperwork had been falsified and that a contaminated tube designed to work in an oxygen system was removed from a scrap bin and may have been installed in an aircraft that was now in service.

He said that without the part having been sterilised, there was a risk it could cause an explosion and “bring the whole plane down”.

In response to Mr Barnett’s claims, Boeing said it was “saddened” by his passing, but the quality issues that he raised before his retirement in 2017 had been addressed.

The airline added: “Engineering analysis determined the issues he raised did not affect aeroplane safety.”

Thursday’s crash in India will send a chill through an aviation industry only just recovering from years of upheaval linked to the US firm’s safety record.

The Air India flight from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick came down soon after take-off on Thursday morning, with 242 passengers and crew onboard.

Video footage showed the Boeing 787’s last moments as it lost altitude over the runway before briefly disappearing from view and exploding in a cloud of flame.

The Flightradar24 flight-tracking website...



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