Simply Breathless - Whistleblower complaint claims Boeing 787 oxygen system is knowingly defective

[rcmaehl]

Sources:
BBC
Business Insider (quote source)

 

Summary:
A whistleblower complaints claims oxygen bottles in 25% or more 787 are defective and will not supply oxygen in emergencies

 

Quotes/Excerpts:

Quote

Boeing has been hit by another whistleblower complaint...a former engineer who says faulty systems...could leave passengers without oxygen in the event of an emergency. John Barnett, a former quality-control engineer at the manufacturer's South Carolina plant, told the BBC...while working on the plane he had found faulty emergency oxygen bottles and that managers stonewalled further investigations into the issue. A rundown of his allegations: In 2016, he found that oxygen bottles in the 787 Dreamliner emergency oxygen systems were not discharging, subsequent tests and found that out of 300 oxygen systems, 75 did not deploy properly, and when he complained about the oxygen systems to the Federal Aviation Administration, it took no action, saying it couldn't because Boeing said it was already working on the issue. A Boeing spokeswoman told Business Insider on Wednesday that all individual oxygen bottles were tested multiple times before delivery and before entering service and that "if at any time the system or a subcomponent does not pass the test, it does not remain on the airplane — it is replaced." The representative added that FAA inspectors were located at all Boeing final-assembly facilities. She also declined to comment on Barnett's allegations of the company's stonewalling his complaints, saying the company did not comment on the substance or existence of internal complaints. A Federal Aviation Administration representative did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment on Barnett's allegations, but the FAA has previously said in a statement: "Safety is the FAA's top priority. We thoroughly investigate whistleblower complaints and take action if the allegations are substantiated." Barnett also presented to the BBC a culture of constantly being pressured to meet production schedules and keep costs down, suggesting that it had jeopardized the quality of Boeing planes. His accusations are consistent with an internal Boeing survey, conducted in November 2016, that found that 29% of engineers felt pressure from managers to certify plane systems they designed themselves — suggesting an atmosphere of rushing through the design and certification process. Boeing has also faced multiple employee complaints regarding its culture and plane quality. These complaints ramped up after two deadly crashes by 787 Max planes, which together killed 346 people. Airlines across the world have grounded their 737 Max jets, and Boeing is fighting to get them back in the air. Congress is scrutinizing the firm's role in the production and marketing of the 737 Max.

 

My Thoughts:

I'm speechless, not because my Boeing oxygen tank isn't working, but from the surveys of Boeing Employees showing such a lack of safety culture and massive lack of oversight at plants and in Boeing in general. This may just be the beginning of the fall of the super giant.

[HarryNyquist]

2 minutes ago, rcmaehl said:

This may just be the beginning of the fall of the super giant.

No, that was their planes falling from the sky and killing hundreds of people because they didn't want to admit there was an issue.

 

This is the other shoe dropping.

[Tieox]

Boeings new advert theme song :

 

 

 

[Tieox]

 

[Spotty]

Moved to off topic. Tech News posts need to have a strong relation to tech.

[PlayStation 2]

can we get McDonnell Douglas and the MD-11 back pls thx 

[Murasaki]

welp, peanut bag to the rescue i guess

[OJTheAviator]

2 hours ago, handymanshandle said:

can we get McDonnell Douglas and the MD-11 back pls thx 

Well, the MD-11 is more or less a DC-10, which, ya know, had it's fair share of falling from the sky moments.

 

Also, by "oxygen bottles", do they mean the system that stores the chemicals and mixes them when the mask is yanked? Because, as far as I know, the only gaseous oxygen tanks stored on airliners are for the pilot emergency oxygen supply.

[WkdPaul]

5 hours ago, Keith W said:

 

I would say this subject has a very strong relation to tech.

 

Poor decision to move this topic in my opinion.

Noted, but that won't change anything. Next tIme please reach out to us (moderators) by PM, as per the Community Standards.

Edited November 7, 2019 by wkdpaul

[greenhorn]

14 hours ago, OJTheAviator said:

Well, the MD-11 is more or less a DC-10, which, ya know, had it's fair share of falling from the sky moments.

 

Also, by "oxygen bottles", do they mean the system that stores the chemicals and mixes them when the mask is yanked? Because, as far as I know, the only gaseous oxygen tanks stored on airliners are for the pilot emergency oxygen supply.

It's true the DC-10 had many high-fatality crashes, earning it a very bad reputation and nicknames like "Death Chamber 10". Nevertheless, as far as I know all design flaws that were said to have caused or at least contributed to those accidents have been fixed over time (as far as I know at least) and the updated aircraft should be much safer than the original model. I believe the main reason for abandoning it as a passenger aircraft was its lousy reputation. The MD-11 is still used as a freighter by some companies if I'm not mistaken.

As to the "oxygen bottles": As far as I know, the emergency oxygen systems for passengers consist of oxygen generators that contain chemicals that, once the generator is started by pulling one of the masks connected to it, react to produce oxygen that is then delivered to the mask were it is mixed with the ambient air (btw, that's why those oxygen masks don't protect against smoke/other fumes that might be present in the cabin).
Real oxygen bottles should only be available in the cockpit and I believe the flight attendants also have some portable oxygen bottles stored somewhere.

I'm not sure how reliable the article quoted by the OP is, also because the typo "787 MAX" wasn't corrected before publication.

[rcmaehl]

7 hours ago, Keith W said:

I would say this subject has a very strong relation to tech.

I mean technically, EVERYTHING is basically technology when it comes to industry. Fire is technology, the wheel is technology, etc. However, this post is more of a mechanical technology (manufacturing) post as well as about Boeing internal culture, and the Tech News section is usually more of electrical (software) tech. I will trust the mods judgement

[piemadd]

On 11/6/2019 at 1:53 PM, handymanshandle said:

can we get McDonnell Douglas and the MD-11 back pls thx 

L1011 reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

 

lol, ive sadly never flown on either, but based on what i've seen, i'd like to see a refresh of the L1011 make some sort of comeback