This came before a tough congressional hearing where critics of the aviation giant were expected to speak.

Boeing engineer Sam Salehpour was scheduled to testify on Wednesday, having gone public with allegations of deficient safety practices and retaliation from the company for speaking out.

A hearing titled "Examining Boeing’s Broken Safety Culture: Firsthand Accounts" was held following a near-disastrous emergency landing of an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX due to a fuselage panel blowing out mid-flight.

Mahmoud Salehpour, a former Boeing engineer, accused the company of safety issues on the 787 Dreamliner, including gaps between parts exceeding company standards, which could lead to premature fatigue failure and potentially catastrophic accidents.

Boeing's chief engineer, Steve Chisholm, denied any fatigue issues were found during testing.

A quality engineer at Boeing named Salehpour raised concerns about "shortcuts" leading to potentially defective parts and installations in the 787 fleet, specifically regarding gaps between parts that exceeded Boeing's standard of .005 inches.

To compensate for these gaps, Boeing reportedly used excessive force during assembly, 165 times the recommended level of 10 pounds.

Salehpour's complaint led to a FAA investigation, and Boeing responded with a rebuttal, expressing confidence in the aircraft and stating that regulatory agencies approved their processes when addressing the gap issue in 2022.

Chisholm, another Boeing employee, defended the use of composite materials in the 787, which do not fatigue or corrode like traditional metals, explaining the lack of fatigue findings.

Between 2010 and 2015, Boeing tested a 787 plane for fatigue by simulating 165,000 flights in a test rig, which is over three times the expected 44,000 cycle lifespan of the aircraft.

In the 2020-2022 period, employees raised concerns about gaps and other issues on some 120 planes in inventory.

With deliveries suspended during this time, Boeing removed thousands of fasteners and conducted rework on eight planes.

While most gaps meet the .005 inch standard, a small percentage exceed it.

Chisholm, the person in question, reported that testing of a structure revealed no signs of fatigue and that the elevated force during manufacturing was not a concern.

He explained that the additional 150 pounds on the structure, which is designed to carry thousands of pounds, is not significant and is acceptable.