Former Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun is set to meet with an employee who blew the whistle about the company’s safety culture.
Sam Mohawk is a quality assurance inspector at the planemaker’s factory in Renton, Washington which produces the 737 Max. In June, he alleged that Boeing mishandled and lost track of hundreds of faulty parts.
He filed a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration which was then made public by a Senate subcommittee investigating Boeing’s safety and quality practices.
Mohawk alleged that Boeing ordered staff to move “improperly stored” aircraft parts to “intentionally hide” them from inspectors with the Federal Aviation Administration.
“Since then, those parts that were hidden from the FAA inspection have been moved back to the outside area or lost completely,” he added.
His lawyer, Brian Knowles, told Newsweek that Mohawk and Calhoun are expected to meet in mid-September, referring to it as a “historic moment.”
Knowles confirmed the expected meeting in an email to Business Insider.
He told Newsweek that there would be no lawyers present at the one-on-one meeting, allowing them to “speak freely and have a productive and candid conversation.”
“It’s always a good sign when people want to sit down and talk through the issues,” Knowles added. “It’s a much better sign than retaliation.”
Calhoun announced his resignation in March after the planemaker’s reputation faltered following January’s Alaska Airlines blowout. He remains involved with the company as a special advisor to the board until next March.
Newsweek’s report was published six days into the tenure of his successor, Kelly Ortberg.
With an engineering background in contrast to Calhoun’s past in finance, Ortberg spent his first days touring Boeing factories — signaling his intent to revamp production quality and safety.
Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by BI.
