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Article: Boeing Parts and Rules Bent, Whistle-Blowers Say
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- April 17, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Jeannine Prewitt knew there was a problem when the holes wouldn't
line up.
On a Boeing Co. assembly line in Kansas in 2000, Prewitt saw
workers drilling extra holes in the long aluminum ribs that make up
the skeleton of a jetliner's fuselage. That was the only way the
workers could attach the pieces, because some of their pre-drilled
holes didn't match those on the airframe.
Prewitt was a parts buyer, the third generation of her family to
work at the sprawling Boeing factory on the outskirts of Wichita. She
believed that pieces going into one of the world's most advanced and
popular airliners, the Boeing 737, should fit like a glove.
The assembly workers Prewitt observed were not the only ...