A Boeing engineer said on Monday that extensive testing had shown “zero” evidence of fatigue stress in the composite materials that make up its 787 jet, two days before a whistleblower is due to testify to the US Congress about what he has described as “catastrophic safety risks” in its manufacturing.
Steve Chisolm, Boeing’s chief engineer for mechanical and structural engineering, told reporters that the carbon fibre composites used to build the jet have successfully endured stress testing that far exceeds normal operating conditions for a commercial jetliner.
“The average 787 accrues about 600 flights a year,” he said at an event at the company’s plant in South Carolina that builds the 787. “We did 165,000 [flight] cycles . . . There were zero findings of fatigue in the composites.”