A former Boeing engineer claims the U.S. aerospace giant’s new 787 Dreamliner is unsafe because its plastic fuselage might shatter and burn in a crash.

Vincent Weldon’s concerns were to be aired Tuesday night on former CBS anchor Dan Rather’s show on the cable network HDNet, The Seattle Times reported.

Weldon worked for Boeing for 46 years with responsibilities that included heading the design of part of the space shuttle.

Boeing fired Weldon in July 2006. He says it was for raising questions about the Dreamliner, while the company says he made threatening remarks to a black supervisor, which he denies. He has filed a federal whistleblower lawsuit.

The company says its engineers examined Weldon’s claims about the Dreamliner and decided they were baseless.

Boeing hopes the Federal Aviation Administration will certify the plane by next May after accelerated testing. Weldon also has written the FAA about the plane.
// Copyright 2007 by United Press International


Publication date: 19 September 2007   

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