Irish Daily Mirror

3 BOEING CRASHES IN 2 DAYS

Whistleblo­wer says he saw ‘serious defects’

- BY DAN WARBURTON

THREE planes made by Boeing crash-landed in just two days as the manufactur­er comes under increasing pressure.

the factory with serious defects. Mr Paredes, who worked for Spirit Aerosystem­s in Kansas in the US, said he often found up to 200 defects on parts being readied for shipping to Boeing.

Passengers scrambled to escape a burning 737 in Senegal, and a tyre exploded as a plane of the same type landed in Turkey.

Yesterday’s incidents came just 24 hours after a nose-gear failure caused a 767 to slam into the runway in Istanbul, Turkey.

Former quality inspector Santiago Paredes claimed plane bodies made by

Boeing’s largest supplier regularly left strongly

He worked at the firm between 2010 and 2022 and claimed he was accustomed to finding “anywhere from 50 to 100, 200” defects on fuselages.

Mr Paredes said: “I was finding missing fasteners, a lot of bent parts, sometimes even missing parts.”

Spirit, which remains Boeing’s biggest supplier, denied the allegation­s, adding: “We are vigorously defending against his claims.” Terrifying footage yesterday showed the moment a Transair Boeing 737 plane skidded off the runway in Dakar, Senegal.

All 78 passengers were evacuated and 15 were injured, four seriously.

The aircraft reportedly experience­d a hydraulic issue before the landing at Blaise Diagne Airport.

Transair, the private company from which Air Senegal chartered the plane, had not commented.

Meanwhile, at Gazipasa airport near the coastal town of Alanya, Turkey, a plane’s tyre burst during landing, sparking the evacuation of 190 people. The Boeing 737-800, belonging to Turkey-based Corendon Airlines, stopped safely on the runway after landing.

Corendon Airlines denied reports that the aircraft had landed on its nose. Ankara’s Transport and Infrastruc­ture Ministry reported damage to the plane’s front gear but did not provide further details.

The ministry added: “The evacuation of the 190 people on board, consisting of 184 passengers and six crew members, has been completed.

“There were no injuries reported among the passengers and initial assessment­s indicate no damage on the runway.”

The runway was not damaged but flights were diverted to the nearby

Antalya airport.

It comes just a day after a Boeing cargo plane belonging to the

US mail service

Fedex crash-landed on its nose on Wednesday. The 767 was travelling from Paris to Istanbul and sent sparks flying on the runway.

Fedex said in a statement it was coordinati­ng with investigat­ion authoritie­s and would provide additional informatio­n as it is available. Boeing said carriers maintain their aeroplanes for up to 40 years and it was for the operators to comment on the safety.

Responding to the claims made by Mr Paredes, a spokeswoma­n said: “Boeing has taken action to improve the quality of Spirit Aerosystem­s fuselages”. news@irish

mirror.ie

There were missing fasteners, bent parts, missing parts

SANTIAGO PAREDES BOEING

 ?? ?? Plane skidded off Dakar runway
CLAIMS Santiago Paredes
@Daily Mirrordan
Plane skidded off Dakar runway CLAIMS Santiago Paredes @Daily Mirrordan

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