Boeing's 787 Dreamliner was deemed the 'safest' of planes. The whistleblowers were always less sure
波音公司的787 Dreamliner被认为是飞机的“最安全”。举报者总是不太确定
4 days ago Share Save Theo Leggett International Business Correspondent Share Save
4天前，分享节省Theo Leggett国际业务通讯员分享节省
BBC
英国广播公司
Listen to Theo reading this article The Air India tragedy, in which at least 270 people died, involved one of Boeing's most innovative and popular planes. Until now, it was considered one of its safest too. We still do not know why flight 171 crashed just 30 seconds after take-off. Investigators have now recovered flight recorder data and are working hard to find out. But the incident has drawn attention to the aircraft involved: the 787 Dreamliner, the first of a modern generation of radical, fuel-efficient planes. Prior to the accident, the 787 had operated for nearly a decade and a half without any major accidents and without a single fatality. During that period, according to Boeing, it carried more than a billion passengers. There are currently more than 1,100 in service worldwide. However, it has also suffered from a series of quality control problems. Whistleblowers who worked on the aircraft have raised numerous concerns about production standards. Some have claimed that potentially dangerously flawed aircraft have been allowed into service – allegations the company has consistently denied.
听西奥（Theo）阅读这篇文章《印度空气》（Air India）悲剧，其中至少有270人死亡，涉及波音最具创新性和最受欢迎的飞机之一。到目前为止，它也被认为是最安全的之一。我们仍然不知道为什么171航班起飞后仅30秒坠毁。调查人员现在已经恢复了飞行记录器数据，并正在努力找出答案。但是，该事件引起了人们对所涉及的飞机的关注：787 Dreamliner，这是现代一代激进的，燃油效率高的飞机的第一架。事故发生前，787次运作了将近十年半，没有任何重大事故，没有一次死亡。根据波音公司的说法，在此期间，它载有超过十亿的乘客。目前，全球有1100多个服务。但是，它也遭受了一系列质量控制问题的困扰。在飞机上工作的举报人对生产标准提出了许多担忧。一些人声称，允许使用潜在的危险有缺陷的飞机服用 - 该公司一直否认的指控。
The Sonic Cruiser and the 9/11 effect
Sonic巡洋舰和9/11效果
It was on a chilly December morning in 2009 that a brand-new aircraft edged out onto the runway at Paine Field airport near Seattle and, as a cheering crowd looked on, accelerated into a cloudy sky. The flight was the culmination of years of development and billions of dollars worth of investment.
正是在2009年12月的一个寒冷的12月早晨，一架全新的飞机驶向西雅图附近潘恩菲尔德机场的跑道，随着欢呼的人群看着，加速了云彩。飞行是多年发展的高潮和价值数十亿美元的投资。
Getty Images Crowds cheer on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner's first test flight in 2009
盖蒂图像人群在2009年的波音787 Dreamliner首次测试飞行中欢呼
The 787 was conceived in the early 2000s, at a time of rising oil prices, when the increasing cost of fuel had become a major preoccupation for airlines. Boeing decided to build a long-haul plane for them that would set new standards in efficiency."In the late 1990s, Boeing was working on a design called the Sonic Cruiser," explains aviation historian Shea Oakley. This was firstly conceived as a plane that would use advanced materials and the latest technology to carry up to 250 passengers at just under the speed of sound. The initial emphasis was on speed and cutting journey times, rather than fuel economy."But then the effects of 9/11 hit the world airline industry quite hard," says Mr Oakley.
787年是在2000年代初期构思的，当时石油价格上涨，燃料成本的增加已成为航空公司的主要关注。波音公司决定为他们建造一架长途飞机，这将在效率上树立新的标准。航空历史学家Shea Oakley解释说：“在1990年代后期，波音公司正在研究一种名为Sonic巡洋舰的设计。”首先被认为是使用高级材料和最新技术的飞机，最多可承载250名乘客的声音速度。最初的重点是速度和削减旅程时间，而不是燃料经济性。奥克利先生说：“但是，9/11的影响非常艰难。”
"The airlines told Boeing what they really needed was the most fuel-efficient, economical long-range jetliner ever produced. They now wanted an aeroplane with a similar capacity to the Sonic Cruiser, minus the high speed." Boeing abandoned its initial concept, and began work on what became the 787. In doing so, it helped create a new business model for airlines. Instead of using giant planes to transport huge numbers of people between"hub" airports, before placing them on connecting flights to other destinations, they could now fly smaller aircraft on less crowded direct routes between smaller cities which would previously have been unviable.
“航空公司告诉波音，他们真正需要的是有史以来最经济的远程喷气式客机。他们现在想要一架与Sonic巡洋舰相似的飞机，减去高速。”波音公司放弃了最初的概念，并开始研究成为787的事物。这样做，它有助于为航空公司创建新的商业模式。他们没有使用巨型飞机在“枢纽”机场之间运送大量人，然后将他们置于飞往其他目的地的航班之前，他们现在可以在较小的直接路线上飞行较小的飞机，以前较小的城市之间，这是不可避免的。
Airbus's superjumbo vs Boeing's fuel efficiency
空中客车超级巨型vs波音的燃油效率
At the time Boeing's great rival, the European giant Airbus, was taking precisely the opposite approach. It was developing the gargantuan A380 superjumbo – a machine tailor-made for carrying as many passengers as possible on busy routes between the world's biggest and busiest airports. In hindsight, Boeing's approach was wiser. The fuel-thirsty A380 went out of production in 2021, after only 251 had been built."Airbus thought the future was giant hubs where people would always want to change planes in Frankfurt or Heathrow or Narita," explains aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia, who is a managing director at AeroDynamic Advisory."Boeing said 'no, people want to fly point to point'. And Boeing was extremely right."
当时，波音公司的伟大竞争对手欧洲巨型空客正采取相反的方法。它正在开发Gargantuan A380 Superjumbo，这是一款量身定制的机器，用于在世界上最大和最繁忙的机场之间繁忙的路线上携带尽可能多的乘客。事后看来，波音的方法更明智。在仅建造了251次之后，燃油速度A380于2021年停止生产。“空中客车公司认为未来是巨型枢纽，人们总是想在法兰克福，希思罗机场或纳里塔更换飞机，”航空分析师理查德·阿布拉菲亚（Richard Aboulafia）解释说，他是空气动力咨询的董事总经理。“波音说'不，人们想指向点'。波音非常正确。”
Getty Images The Airbus A380 was launched in 2005 but went out of production 16 years later
盖蒂图像空中客车A380于2005年推出，但16年后退出了生产
The 787 was a truly radical aircraft. It was the first commercial plane to be built primarily of composites such as carbon fibre, rather than aluminium, in order to reduce weight. It had advanced aerodynamics to reduce drag. It also used highly efficient modern engines from General Electric and Rolls Royce, and it replaced many mechanical and pneumatic systems with lighter electrical ones. All of this, Boeing said, would make it 20% more efficient than its predecessor, the Boeing 767. It was also significantly quieter, with a noise footprint (the area on the ground affected by significant noise from the aircraft) that the manufacturer said was up to 60% smaller.
787是一架真正的激进飞机。它是第一台主要由碳纤维而不是铝等复合材料构建的商业平面，以减轻体重。它具有先进的空气动力学以减少阻力。它还使用了通用电气和Rolls Royce的高效现代发动机，并用更轻的电气替换了许多机械和气动系统。波音公司说，所有这些都将使它的效率比其前身767高20％。制造商称，它的噪音足迹也更加安静，其噪音足迹（受飞机的明显噪音影响），该制造商说，该噪声足迹高达60％。
Emergency landings and onboard fires
紧急着陆和船上火
Not long after the aircraft entered service, however, there were serious problems. In January 2013, lithium-ion batteries caught fire aboard a 787 as it waited at a gate at Boston's Logan International Airport. A week later, overheating batteries forced another 787 to make an emergency landing during an internal flight in Japan. The design was grounded worldwide for several months, while Boeing came up with a solution.
但是，飞机进入服务后不久，就会出现严重的问题。2013年1月，锂离子电池在波士顿洛根国际机场的大门上等着时，上一台787号火车。一周后，过热的电池迫使另外787次在日本的内部飞行中进行紧急降落。在波音公司提出解决方案的同时，该设计在全球范围内扎根了几个月。
Getty Images An investigation was launched after a battery fire aboard a 787, while it waited at a gate
Getty图像在787上的电池射击后发起了调查，而它在门口等待
Since then, day to day operations have been smoother, but production has been deeply problematic. Analysts say this may, in part, have been due to Boeing's decision to set up a new assembly line for the 787 in North Charleston, South Carolina – more than 2000 miles from its Seattle heartlands. This was done to take advantage of the region's low rates of union membership, as well as generous support from the state."There were serious development issues," says Mr Aboulafia."Some notable production issues, related especially to the decision to create Boeing's first ever production line outside of the Puget Sound area."
从那时起，日常操作变得更加顺畅，但生产一直存在问题。分析人士说，这部分是由于波音公司决定在南卡罗来纳州北查尔斯顿建立一条新的装配线 - 距离西雅图心脏地带超过2000英里。这样做的目的是利用该地区的低收入工会成员资格以及国家的慷慨支持。阿布拉菲亚先生说：“存在严重的发展问题。”“一些值得注意的生产问题，尤其与决定在普吉特声音区域之外建立波音有史以来第一条生产线的决定有关。”
Damaging whistleblower allegations
损害举报人的指控
In 2019, Boeing discovered the first of a series of manufacturing defects that affected the way in which different parts of the aircraft fitted together. As more problems were found, the company widened its investigations – and uncovered further issues. Deliveries were heavily disrupted, and halted altogether between May 2021 and July 2022, before being paused again the following year. However, potentially the most damaging allegations about the 787 programme have come from the company's own current and former employees. Among the most prominent was the late John Barnett, a former quality control manager at the 787 factory in South Carolina. He claimed that pressure to produce planes as quickly as possible had seriously undermined safety.
在2019年，波音公司发现了一系列制造缺陷中的第一个，这些缺陷影响了飞机的不同部位合并在一起的方式。随着发现越来越多的问题，该公司扩大了调查，并发现了进一步的问题。在2021年5月至2022年7月之间，交货遭到严重破坏，并完全停止了，然后在第二年再次暂停。但是，关于787计划的最具破坏性指控可能来自公司自己现任和前任雇员。最突出的是已故的约翰·巴内特（John Barnett），他是南卡罗来纳州787工厂的前质量控制经理。他声称，尽快生产飞机的压力严重破坏了安全性。
AFP via Getty Images The late John Barnett, a former quality control manager at a 787 factory in South Carolina, made various allegations against Boeing
法新社通过Getty Images The已故约翰·巴内特（John Barnett）是南卡罗来纳州787工厂的前质量控制经理
In 2019, he told the BBC that workers at the plant had failed to follow strict procedures intended to track components through the factory, potentially allowing defective parts to go missing. In some cases, he said, workers had even deliberately fitted substandard parts from scrap bins to aircraft in order to avoid delays on the production line. He also maintained that defective fixings were used to secure aircraft decks. Screwing them into place produced razor-sharp slivers of metal, which in some cases accumulated beneath the deck in areas containing large amounts of aircraft wiring. His claims had previously been passed to the US regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration, which partially upheld them. After investigating, it concluded that at least 53"non-conforming" parts had gone missing in the factory. An audit by the FAA also confirmed that metal shavings were present beneath the floors of a number of aircraft. Boeing said its board analysed the problem and decided it did not"present a safety of flight issue", though the fixings were subsequently redesigned. The company later said it had"fully resolved the FAA's findings regarding part traceability and implemented corrective actions to prevent recurrence".
2019年，他告诉英国广播公司（BBC），该工厂的工人未能遵循严格的程序，旨在跟踪通过工厂的组件，从而使有缺陷的零件丢失。他说，在某些情况下，工人甚至故意安装了从废料箱到飞机的不合格零件，以避免生产线上的延误。他还坚持认为，使用有缺陷的固定件可保护飞机甲板。将它们拧到位，产生了金属的剃须刀片，在某些情况下，在包含大量飞机接线的区域中积聚在甲板下方。他的主张先前已转移给美国监管机构联邦航空管理局，部分维持了他们。在进行调查之后，得出的结论是，工厂中至少有53个“不合格”部分失踪了。FAA的审核还证实，金属剃须在许多飞机的地板下都存在。波音公司表示，其董事会分析了该问题，并认为该问题没有“提出飞行问题”，尽管固定装置随后进行了重新设计。该公司后来表示，“已经完全解决了FAA关于部分可追溯性的发现，并采取了纠正措施以防止复发”。
'A matter of time before something big happens'
“发生大事之前的时间问题”
Mr Barnett remained concerned that aircraft that had already gone into service could be carrying hidden defects serious enough to cause a major accident."I believe it's just a matter of time before something big happens with a 787," he told me in 2019."I pray that I am wrong." In early 2024, Mr Barnett took his own life. At the time he had been giving evidence in a long-running whistleblower lawsuit against the company – which he maintained had victimised him as a result of his allegations. Boeing denied this. Much of what he had alleged echoed previous claims by another former quality manager at the plant, Cynthia Kitchens. In 2011, she had complained to regulators about substandard parts being deliberately removed from quarantine bins and fitted to aircraft, in an attempt to keep the production line moving. Ms Kitchens, who left Boeing in 2016, also claimed employees had been told to overlook substandard work, and said defective wiring bundles, containing metallic shavings within their coatings, had been deliberately installed on planes – creating a risk of dangerous short-circuits. Boeing has not responded to these specific allegations but says Ms Kitchens resigned in 2016"after being informed that she was being placed on a performance improvement plan". It says that she subsequently filed a lawsuit against Boeing,"alleging claims of discrimination and retaliation unrelated to any quality issues", which was dismissed.
巴内特先生仍然担心已经服役的飞机可能会带来隐藏的缺陷，这足以造成重大事故。他在2019年对我说：“我相信这只是时间问题。我祈祷我错了。”2024年初，巴内特先生自杀了。当时，他一直在针对该公司的长期举报诉讼中提供证据 - 他坚持认为这是他的指控使他受害的。波音否认了这一点。他所指称的大部分内容都回应了辛西娅·厨房（Cynthia Kitchens）工厂的另一位前质量经理以前的主张。2011年，她向监管机构抱怨不合标准的零件被故意从隔离箱中移除并安装到飞机上，以使生产线的发展。Kitchens女士于2016年离开波音公司，他还声称员工被告知要忽略不合格的工作，并说有缺陷的布线捆绑包包含涂料中的金属剃须，并故意安装在飞机上 - 造成了危险的短路的风险。波音没有对这些具体指控做出回应，但说，凯恩斯女士在2016年辞职“被告知她正在遵守绩效改进计划之后”。它说，她随后对波音提起诉讼，“指控歧视和报复与任何质量问题无关的主张”，这被驳回了。
Getty Images Boeing set out to make the 787 significantly quieter and 20% more efficient than its predecessor, the 767
盖蒂图像波音公司开始使787明显安静，比其前身767高20％
More recently, a third whistleblower made headlines when testifying before a senate committee last year. Sam Salehpour, a current Boeing employee, told US lawmakers he had come forward because"the safety problems I have observed at Boeing, if not addressed could result in a catastrophic failure of a commercial aeroplane that would lead to the loss of hundreds of lives". The quality engineer said that while working on the 787 in late 2020, he had seen the company introduce shortcuts in assembly processes, in order to speed up production and delivery of the aircraft. These, he said,"had allowed potentially defective parts and defective installations in 787 fleets". He also noted that on the majority of aircraft he looked at, tiny gaps in the joints between sections of fuselage had not been properly rectified. This, he said, meant those joints would be prone to"premature fatigue failure over time" and created"extremely unsafe conditions for the aircraft" with"potentially catastrophic" consequences. He suggested that more than 1,000 aircraft – the bulk of the 787 fleet – could be affected. Boeing insists that"claims about the structural integrity of the 787 are inaccurate". It says:"The issues raised have been subject to rigorous examination under US Federal Aviation Administration oversight. This analysis has validated that the aircraft will maintain its durability and service life over several decades, and these issues do not present any safety concerns."
最近，去年在参议院委员会作证时，第三个举报人成为头条新闻。现任波音员工Sam Salehpour告诉美国立法者，他挺身而出，因为“我在波音公司观察到的安全问题，如果没有解决的话，可能会导致商业飞机的灾难性失败，这将导致数百人丧生”。质量工程师说，在2020年底在787上工作时，他看到该公司在组装过程中引入了快捷方式，以加快飞机的生产和交付。他说，这些“允许787舰队中有可能有缺陷的零件和有缺陷的装置”。他还指出，在他看的大多数飞机上，机身部分之间的关节间隙很小，尚未得到适当纠正。他说，这意味着这些关节将容易“随着时间的流逝过早疲劳失败”，并以“潜在的灾难性”后果造成“飞机极为不安全的条件”。他建议将有1,000多架飞机（787舰队中的大部分）受到影响。波音公司坚持认为，“关于787的结构完整性的主张是不准确的”。它说：“提出的问题在美国联邦航空管理局的监督下进行了严格的检查。该分析证明了飞机将在几十年中维持其耐用性和使用寿命，这些问题不会引起任何安全问题。”
'Serious problems would have shown up'
“严重的问题会出现”
There is no question that Boeing has come under huge pressure in recent years over its corporate culture and production standards. In the wake of two fatal accidents involving its bestselling 737 Max, and a further serious incident last year, it has been repeatedly accused of putting the pursuit of profit over passenger safety. It is a perception that chief executive Kelly Ortberg, who joined the company last year, has been working hard to overturn - overhauling its internal processes and working with regulators on a comprehensive safety and quality control plan. But has the 787 already been compromised by past failures, that may have created ongoing safety risks?
毫无疑问，近年来，波音在其企业文化和生产标准方面承受着巨大压力。由于两次致命事故涉及其最畅销的737最高销量以及去年的进一步严重事件，因此被一再被指控将利润追求超过乘客安全。人们认为，去年加入公司的首席执行官凯利·奥尔特伯格（Kelly Ortberg）一直在努力推翻 - 大修了其内部流程，并与监管机构合作制定了全面的安全和质量控制计划。但是，过去的失败已经损害了787，这可能造成了持续的安全风险？
Reuters It is still not known why the Air India flight crashed just 30 seconds after take-off
路透社仍然不知道为什么印度航空飞机在起飞后仅30秒坠毁
Richard Aboulafia believes not."You know. It's been 16 years of operations, 1,200 jets and over a billion passengers flown, but no crashes until now," he says."It's a stellar safety record." He thinks that any major issues would already have become apparent."I really think production problems are more of a short-term concern," he says."For the past few years, there's been far greater oversight of 787 production."For older planes, I think any serious problems would have shown up by now." The Air India plane that crashed in Ahmedabad was more than 11 years old, having first flown in 2013. But the Foundation for Aviation Safety, a US organisation established by the former Boeing whistleblower Ed Pierson that has previously been highly critical of the company, says it did have concerns about 787s prior to the recent crash."Yes, it was a possible safety risk," claims Mr Pierson."We monitor incident reports, we monitor regulatory documents. Airworthiness directives come out that describe various issues, and it does make you wonder."
理查德·阿布拉提亚（Richard Aboulafia）不认为。他说：“你知道。这已经进行了16年的运营，1200架飞机，超过十亿乘客飞行，但直到现在还没有撞车。”“这是一个出色的安全记录。”他认为，任何主要问题都将变得显而易见。他说：“我真的认为生产问题更多是一个短期关注的问题。”“在过去的几年中，有787架生产的监督。“我认为，我认为现在有任何严重的问题到现在出现。”在艾哈迈达巴德坠毁的印度飞机已经超过11岁，在2013年首次飞行。但是，在以前的7月份以前一直以前一直以来的惠斯利布尔（Whistleblower Ed）在美国建立的航空公司的基础，该公司在惠斯利布尔（Whistleblower Ed）上的一项重要地位，该公司的陪伴在惠斯利布尔（Whistleblower Ed）的高度关键，该公司的陪伴一直在努力。Pierson先生说：“是的，这是一种可能的安全风险。”出现了描述各种问题的适航指令，这确实使您感到奇怪。”
Getty Images People are waiting for answers, following the Air India tragedy, which killed at least 270 people earlier this month
盖蒂图像人们正在等待答案，因为印度空军悲剧，本月初至少杀死了270人
One such issue, he argues, is water potentially leaking from washroom taps into electrical equipment bays. Last year, the FAA instructed airlines to carry out regular inspections, following reports that leaks were going undetected on certain 787 models. However, he stresses that the cause of the recent tragedy is still unknown – and that it is vital the investigation moves forward quickly, so that any problems, whether they lie with the aircraft, the airline or elsewhere, can be resolved. For the moment, however, the 787's safety record remains strong."We don't know at this point what caused the Air India crash," says Scott Hamilton, managing director of aviation consulting firm Leeham Company."But based on what we do know about the plane, I would not hesitate to get on board a 787." Top image credit: Getty Images
他认为，这样的问题是，水可能会从洗手间泄漏到电气设备托架中。去年，FAA指示航空公司进行定期检查，此前有报道称某些787型号的泄漏未发现。但是，他强调说，最近悲剧的原因仍然未知 - 调查迅速前进至关重要，因此，任何问题（无论是在飞机，航空公司还是其他地方）都可以解决。然而，目前，787的安全记录仍然很强。航空咨询公司Leeham Company的董事总经理Scott Hamilton说：“目前我们不知道是什么原因导致了印度航空崩溃。”“但是根据我们对飞机的了解，我会毫不犹豫地加入787。”顶部图片来源：盖蒂图像
