Could airline giant Boeing really have allowed ill-fitting and dangerous parts into the construction of some of its 737 planes, potentially risking the lives of passengers?
Dozens of the planes are in Australian skies and there have been three suspicious crashes elsewhere in the world, but an investigation screened on Dateline on SBS ONE alleges that Boeing, and United States authorities, have taken little action.
Two former Boeing employees turned whistleblowers, Gigi Prewitt and Taylor Smith, are at the heart of the story.
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They say they couldn't keep quiet any longer over defective parts being made by a subcontractor, Ducommun, which they say were then allowed into 737 Next Generation planes between 1996 and 2004… some even had to be hammered into shape or packed with filler to make them fit.
Their allegations have been all the way to the US Department of Justice, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Defence Criminal Investigative Service – all have dismissed them, with Boeing saying they're 'without merit'.
But Tim Tate's special investigation alleges conflicting information, intimidation, collusion, and ultimately aeroplanes that are unfit to fly. So are we really safe in the skies?
Watch this special investigation on the Dateline website.
