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Former SC Boeing employees claim unsafe production, pressure to not report violations

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — Boeing is facing more problems as workers at the company's Charleston plant are complaining about a  frantic and unsafe production schedule and weak oversight.

The plant in north Charleston makes the company's 787 Dreamliner.

Former employees told the New York Times they felt pressured not to report violations, even when faulty parts were installed in planes.

"We heard about a stray bolt of an engine in a plane that had already gone up for a test flight," New York Times journalist Natalie Kitroeff said. "We heard about a ladder in a tail of a plane that likewise had gone up for a test flight, chewing gum being found holding together the trim of a door."

The Times included in its reporting that there is no evidence parts from the plant put anyone flying on Boeing's planes in danger.

Brad Zaback, a site leader at the plant and general manager of the 787 program, said The Times' report "paints a skewed and inaccurate picture of the program and of our team."

"The 787 has been a very popular aircraft, very safe, and very successful," Aviation expert Tom Heuter said.

Boeing invited The Times to visit the plant, but the newspaper has not accepted yet.

Boeing is currently dealing with the fallout from two deadly crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia.

The aircraft maker's 737 MAX planes went down in both incidents, killing a total of 346 people. The planes are still grounded around the world.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the 737 MAX's development, while the company works on a software fix to make sure the planes are safe to fly.