New whistleblower claims Boeing asked damaged or defective stored parts to be hidden from regulators

Problems continue to mount for Boeing as a new whistleblower has levelled serious allegations against the aerospace giant's safety and quality control, US-based media reported.

The accusations were made just hours ahead ofBoeing CEO David Calhoun's appearance before the Congress where he is expected to apologise to families of crash victims in the 2018 and 2019 MAX crashes, which together claimed 346 lives.

In a filing with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on June 11, whistleblower Sam Mohawk, who has worked as an inspector in Boeing's Quality Assurance unit since 2011, alleged that Boeing has approximately 300-400 damaged or defective 737 Max aircraft parts as of last year.

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The company eliminated records for many of them from its internal record system, Mohawk claimed that as he included a memo sent by the Senate investigations subcommittee to its members. The report was made public Tuesday (Jun 18).

Mohawk alleged that he was told by his supervisors to hide the evidence from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

He claimed that he even said he now faces termination for speaking up about the issue and voicing his concerns through the company's Speak Up programme.

The whistleblower claimed that a senior manager told him that his threats to go to the regulators over compliance issues made other employees feel afraid and threatened, and now he "fears for his personal safety".

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This is not the first case, as Boeing found itself in hot waters since an Alaska Airlines plane made an emergency landing after a fuselage panel blew out.

Calhoun's appearance will be his first testimony before a congressional panel since that terrifying mid-flight incident in January.

Ahead of the hearing, the Senate panel released details on additional workers who have come forward with problems, which included Mohawk.

Earlier, whistleblowers, including Sam Salehpour, a current engineer at Boeing and Roy Irvin, a former quality investigator, have gone public with allegations about safety.

Meanwhile, Boeing said, "We received this document late Monday evening and are reviewing the claims. We continuously encourage employees to report all concerns as our priority is to ensure the safety of our airplanes and the flying public."

(With inputs from agencies)