New Boeing Whistleblowers Speak Out: Death Of Colleagues 'Doesn't Add Up'

Boeing Co BA has been ridiculed for several operational failures in recent years.

Two whistleblowers are now speaking out amid the Virginia-based company’s attempts to save face. Their comments come on the heels of two other Boeing whistleblowers dying within weeks of each other.

What Happened: Roy Irvin, a quality investigator at Boeing, and Santiago Paredes, who worked at Spirit AeroSystems, recently told their stories to the New York Post.

Irvin noted that he frequently brought up concerns with company safety practices, but supervisors did not heed his warnings.

Additionally, he worked with fellow whistleblower Josh Barnett, who was later found dead from an apparent suicide.

"I'm not gonna say I don't believe it [the suicide], but it really doesn't make sense. It doesn't add up,” Irvin said to the Post in reference to several conspiracy theories surrounding Barnett’s death.

Paredes, a former production inspector, was frequently shocked by defects on the production line. Paredes also felt like he was pressured to not speak out about safety concerns.

"Everything I was seeing was like a ticking time bomb,” Paredes said. "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."

Why it Matters: Boeing’s 737 Max was grounded in March 2019 following two catastrophic crashes that killed a total of 346 people.

Boeing was required to ground the 737 Max, but the planes were later cleared. Subsequent incidents, including the Alaskan Air flight, led Boeing to ground the 737 Max again in 2024.

Then a door flew off a Boeing 737 Max on an Alaskan Air flight in February.

The popular 2022 Netflix Documentary “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing” outlined several operational breakdowns that led to the incidents mentioned above. The documentarians linked the shareholder-first mentality of Boeing executives in their attempts to compete with Airbus SE EADSY to a decline in safety standards.

Price Action: Boeing is trading at $188.92, up 0.16% on Wednesday. The company’s share price has declined nearly 50% in the past five years.

Also Read: Boeing’s 737 MAX Production Freeze Remains As FAA Demands Safety Overhaul

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