Boeing has backed its wide-bodies despite the whistleblower complaint, telling BI in an email statement on Tuesday that Salehpour's allegations are not representative of the work it has done to "ensure the quality and long-term safety of the aircraft."

"The issues raised have been subject to rigorous engineering examination under FAA oversight," Boeing said of the 787. "This analysis has validated that these issues do not present any safety concerns, and the aircraft will maintain its service life over several decades."

Boeing said the 787 can fly for more than 30 years before it needs heavy maintenance to extend its life and that it is fully confident in the safety of its in-production and in-service Dreamliners.

"Based on the previous fuselage testing up to 165,000 cycles and Boeing's extensive data gathering, testing, modeling, and analysis from 2020 to today — shared transparently with the FAA — Boeing currently expects these issues will not change or affect the expected lifespan of the 787 fuselages," Boeing said.

The complaints come after years of production issues on the 787, which led to a 15-month halt in airplane deliveries stemming from a series of production flaws, including the gaps mentioned by Salehpour.

The Boeing 787 is the company's best-selling wide-body jetliner, which comes in three sizes, and is popular because its different versions have varying ranges and capacities. It's one of Boeing's biggest cash cows.

Boeing is also facing scrutiny about its quality control after a door plug on an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 fell off mid-flight.

"I'm not doing this not because I want Boeing to fail, but because I want it to succeed and prevent crashes from happening," Salehpour said. "The truth is Boeing can't keep on the way it is; it needs to do a little bit better."

In order to keep the pulse of the industry development and realize the efficient docking of the upstream and downstream of the civil aircraft industry chain and supply chain,14th Annual Civil Aircraft Industry International Forum 2024 will be held in Xi’an City,Shaanxi Province in April 25th-26th,2024. This forum aims to face the current severe international situation and the development challenges of the 14th Five-Year Plan and Vision 2035, mobilize all parties in the industry to work together, seize the opportunities and jointly promote the rapid development of China's civil aviation industry.

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