The departing Boeing CEO has been summoned by a Senate subcommittee to testify next week regarding ongoing safety issues involving the manufacture and assembly of Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
This comes after a whistleblower, who has worked at Boeing for over 10 years, accused the company of prioritizing speed to market over safety and retaliating against him when he raised concerns.
“Rather than heeding his warnings, Boeing prioritized getting the planes to market as quickly as possible, despite the known, well-substantiated issues Mr. Salehpour raised,” attorneys Debra Katz and Lisa Banks said.
Both the 787 and 737 Max models have faced production defects that have delayed deliveries.
Calhoun will exit Boeing at the end of 2024 amid the company’s largest safety crisis since 2018-2019 737 Max crashes.
In January, a 737 Max made an emergency landing due to a fuselage panel blowing out.
The FAA has since frozen Max production to require safety improvements.
Boeing denied charges of retaliation and said it is confident in the Dreamliner, but first-quarter plane deliveries dropped 36% and shares fell following news of the Senate hearing.
