Boeing in the spotlight as Congress calls a whistleblower to testify about defects in planes

Boeing will be in the spotlight during back-to-back hearings Wednesday, as Congress examines allegations of major safety failures at the embattled aircraft manufacturer.

The first session will feature members of an expert panel that found serious flaws in Boeing’s safety culture.

The main event will be a second hearing featuring a Boeing engineer who claims that sections of the skin on 787 Dreamliner jets are not properly fastened and could eventually break apart. The whistleblower’s lawyer says Boeing has ignored the engineer’s concerns and prevented him from talking to experts about fixing the defects.

The whistleblower, Sam Salehpour, sent documents to the Federal Aviation Administration, which is investigating the quality and safety of Boeing’s manufacturing.

Salehpour is scheduled to testify Wednesday before a Senate investigations subcommittee. Another Boeing whistleblower — Ed Pierson, a former manager on the Boeing 737 program — and two other aviation technical experts are also on the witness list.

The Democrat who chairs the panel and its senior Republican have asked Boeing for troves of documents going back six years.

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