Boeing safety under scrutiny during Senate meetings

Boeing in the hot seat over safety misconduct allegations

One Boeing engineer, a whistleblower, testified that the company is taking shortcuts in assembling 787 Dreamliners, leaving sections of an aircraft's skin vulnerable to breaking apart.

RENTON, Wash. - It's been over three months since a door plug blew out of an Alaska Airlines flight over Oregon, nearly sending passengers out of the hole that was left behind in the Boeing 737 Max 9 as it flew at 16,000 feet.

Senate hearings got underway Wednesday morning, addressing the company's safety culture and putting Boeing in the hot seat.

Attorney Mark Lindquist now represents more than two dozen passengers who were on the Alaska Airlines flight. He says those who testified at the hearings are backing up claims in the lawsuit that Boeing hasn't fixed a number of problems that could put passengers at risk.

"The Senators today seem to be wondering the same thing the rest of us are wondering. Why do these problems continue at Boeing?" said Lindquist, an aviation and personal injury attorney from the Seattle area. "For me, the theme of today’s Senate hearing was, ‘What is it going to take to change Boeing’s culture?"

Passenger Cuong Tran, who is represented by a different attorney, described how he survived that flight during a previous interview.

"I was getting ready to doze off that day on the plane, just as usual. Then, I heard the message from the captain, ‘We just passed 10,000 feet.' A few seconds later, a hole lifted up on the side panel. The next thing I know, my whole body lifted up and proceeded to get sucked out of that hole," said Cuong. "I was just stuck in that position trying to pull myself away from it."

One Boeing engineer, a whistleblower, testified that the company is taking shortcuts in assembling 787 Dreamliners, leaving sections of an aircraft's skin vulnerable to breaking apart.

"Effectively, they are putting out defective airplanes," said Sam Salehpour, during a Senate hearing.

He told Congressional leaders that those who raised issues were silenced.

"A few years ago, 346 people died after the two Max 8 crashes. Boeing was prosecuted by the Department of Justice. We all thought that was going to be a huge wake-up call. Instead, the problems continue," said Lindquist.

Lindquist says he now represents 29 people in a lawsuit against Boeing and Alaska Airlines. Based on conversations with other passengers, he says more are expected to join.

"Additional clients have joined our lawsuit. My law firm currently represents 29 clients, and we are in conversation with others. Anyone who was on that plane has a cause of action to one degree or another," said Lindquist.

As for that ongoing lawsuit against Boeing and Alaska Airlines, Lindquist says they are in the process of discovery, gathering evidence and interviewing officials at Boeing and Alaska Airlines.