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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →In April 2024, Boeing quality engineer Sam Salehpour told a U.S. Senate subcommittee that production practices on the 787 Dreamliner could leave fuselage joints improperly fitted and potentially reduce fatigue life. He also alleged that misaligned parts on the 777 were force-fitted under production pressure. Boeing disputed his account. The FAA has documented corrective work and long-term inspections involving the 787, but its later production-certification decisions do not resolve every claim Salehpour made.
What did Salehpour allege about the 787?
In written testimony prepared for the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations hearing on April 17, 2024, Salehpour focused on how sections of the 787 fuselage are fitted together. He said increased force during fit-up and a practice he called “one up assembly” were used to ease production bottlenecks. In his account, forcing parts together where gaps existed could create defects or shorten the aircraft’s fatigue life.
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He said Boeing specifications called for gaps greater than 0.005 inches to be shimmed using a specified force. Salehpour reported that internal inspection data he reviewed in 2022 showed that as many as 98.7% of gaps above that threshold in certain fuselage sections had not been shimmed. That is his figure for the examined data he described—not an independently verified rate for the 787 fleet or an FAA finding.
Salehpour also alleged that he faced pressure and retaliation after raising concerns and was transferred from the 787 program to the 777 program in 2022. Those statements are part of his testimony; they are not, by themselves, findings by the Senate subcommittee or the FAA.
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What did he claim about the 777?
Salehpour alleged that the 777’s Fuselage Automated Upright Build process was partly abandoned, while some of its elements remained without the design changes needed to address resulting misalignment. He said workers then used unmeasured force—including cranes and heavy equipment—to bring parts into alignment. In one example in his account, workers jumped on aircraft parts.
He further alleged that production pressure and the response to reported defects were inadequate. These claims describe his first-person account of assembly practices; Boeing disputed his account of workers jumping on fuselage parts.
How did Boeing respond?
Boeing executives described the 787 process as fitting fuselage sections, shimming gaps, drilling holes and installing fasteners. As reported by the Associated Press in 2024, Boeing said its tests had replicated 165,000 flights without finding fatigue in the 787’s composite structure. Boeing also said 671 Dreamliners had received intensive six-year inspections and eight had received 12-year inspections without composite-skin fatigue findings. These are company-reported testing and inspection results, not independent regulatory findings that settle every issue Salehpour raised.
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Boeing disputed Salehpour’s account of workers jumping on 777 parts and said it was fully confident in both aircraft. The public statements described here do not establish a point-by-point resolution of every allegation.
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Corrective actions and repeat inspections
In testimony on September 25, 2024, FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker said that reports of 787 shimming discrepancies had led the FAA to require a system-wide assessment in 2019. Boeing stopped production and reinspected aircraft in its production system. The FAA said it oversaw corrective actions, increased surveillance of shimming and gap management, and retained authority to issue airworthiness certificates for new 787s at that time.
Whitaker said evaluations of nonconforming joins found strength significantly above load-limit requirements and no immediate safety-of-flight concern. The FAA also issued two airworthiness directives, in 2021 and 2022, requiring repetitive inspections to monitor possible damage over time. The distinction matters: the FAA’s statement addressed immediate flight-safety concerns in evaluated joins, while the repeat inspections addressed the need to monitor for possible damage over time.
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A separate pressure-bulkhead rule
A separate final FAA rule, summarized by the Department of Transportation, applies to certain 787-8, 787-9 and 787-10 airplanes. It requires detailed internal and external inspections of the forward pressure bulkhead after reports of multiple nonconformances, including excessive gaps and pull-up. This is a specific airworthiness action; it is not a final determination of Salehpour’s entire complaint.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What changed in 2026—and what did not?
On July 17, 2026, the FAA announced that Boeing could resume issuing airworthiness certificates for newly produced 787 and 737 MAX aircraft effective July 20, following an eight-month review of production-quality data. The FAA said it would continue inspections, audits and monitoring of assembly activity, quality trends, regulatory compliance, Boeing’s Safety Management System and safety culture.
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How should readers interpret the safety claims?
The testimony, Boeing’s response and regulatory records address related but distinct questions. Salehpour alleged that particular assembly practices could create defects or affect long-term fatigue life. Boeing cited its own testing and inspections in response. The FAA described corrective actions and said evaluated nonconforming joins posed no immediate flight-safety concern, while also requiring repeat inspections. None of those statements alone establishes the complete truth or final disposition of every allegation.
The Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General has separately reported weaknesses in FAA oversight processes that limited the agency’s ability to identify and resolve Boeing production issues. Its audit highlighted areas including data-driven audit targeting, supplier conformity, tracking repeated noncompliances and oversight of undue-pressure allegations; it listed 16 recommendations, with some shown as closed through June 29, 2026. Those findings concern FAA oversight systems, not a verdict that every 787 or 777 allegation is true.
As of October 4, 2026, the public agency materials described here document specific 787 actions and broader oversight concerns, but do not establish a publicly documented final disposition of each individual allegation Salehpour made about the 787 and 777.
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