The "Showstopper" spoke for the first time, and shocked everyone; "They knew...", Who dares enter Boeing now?

Santiago Paredes who worked for Spirit AeroSystems in Kansas, told the BBC he often found up to 200 defects on parts being readied for shipping to Boeing.

He was nicknamed "showstopper" for slowing down production when he tried to tackle his concerns about defective aircraft parts, he claimed.

Spirit said it "strongly disagree[d]" with the allegations.

He was accustomed to finding "anywhere from 50 to 100, 200" defects on fuselages - the main body of the plane - that were due to be shipped to Boeing, Paredes said.

"I was finding a lot of missing fasteners, a lot of bent parts, sometimes even missing parts."

The company he worked for, which is Boeing's largest supplier, says it disagrees with Paredes' accusations and that it "vigorously defends itself against his claims."

Boeing declined to comment on his allegations, while US transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg said that the government was "putting Boeing under a microscope" through ongoing investigations by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Spirit AeroSystems and Boeing have come under intense scrutiny after a door fell off a brand new Boeing 737 Max shortly after takeoff in January, leaving a hole in the side of the plane.

Spirit AeroSystems and Boeing have both come under intense scrutiny after an unused door came off a brand new 737 Max shortly after take-off in January, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the plane.

According to investigators, the door had originally been fitted by Spirit, but had subsequently been removed by Boeing technicians to rectify faulty riveting.

The incident prompted the US regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration, to launch an audit of production practices at both firms. It found multiple instances where the companies failed to comply with manufacturing control practices.

Thus, several cases were found where companies did not adhere to production quality control practices.

The FAA subsequently temporarily grounded nearly 200 Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft.

The FAA launched another investigation earlier this week after Boeing told regulators it may not have properly inspected its 787 Dreamliner planes.

Paredes, who went public, made the allegations in an interview with the BBC and CBS, describing what he experienced working between 2010 and 2022. Namely, Paredes said that some of the shortcomings he identified while he was in "Spirit" were minor, but others were more serious. He also claimed he was put under pressure to be ''less rigorous''.

"They always made a fuss about why I was finding it, why I was looking at it," he said.

''They just wanted the product shipped out. They weren't focused on the consequences of shipping bad fuselages. They were just focused on meeting the quotas, meeting the schedule, meeting the budget… If the numbers looked good, the state of the fuselages didn't really matter," he said.

Many of Mr Paredes' alleged experiences at Spirit form part of his testimony in legal action that disgruntled shareholders have brought against the firm.

However, in legal documents he is referred to simply as "Former Employee #1". This is the first time Paredes has spoken publicly.

A second former quality auditor, Josh Dean, whose claims were also to form part of the lawsuit, passed away last week after contracting a serious bacterial infection.

The lawsuit accuses the company Boeing of deliberately attempting to cover up serious and widespread quality failings, and exposing shareholders to financial losses when those failings became exposed. Spirit said it "strongly disagrees" with the assertions in the legal action.

The suit accuses Boeing of deliberately trying to cover up serious and widespread quality defects and exposing shareholders to financial losses when those defects are discovered. Paredes said both companies, Spirit and Boeing, were aware of the extent of the defect problem and that it was discussed in weekly meetings between quality inspectors from both companies.

For Parades, the end of his career came when his manager ordered him to change the way defects were reported, in order to reduce their total number.

Mr Paredes subsequently filed an "ethics complaint" with the company's human resources department, and wrote to Spirit's then chief executive, Tom Gentile.

"After I protested I was demoted and moved to another part of the plant. I felt threatened and bullied for showing concern. I then filed an ethics complaint with the company's human resources department and wrote to the then head of 'Spirit' Tom Gentile.

In that email, he said "I have lost faith on the quality organisation here at Spirit and this is my last cry for help".

Mr Paredes was subsequently reinstated in his leadership role and given back-pay after his complaint was partially upheld. He left the company soon afterwards.

He now maintains he would be reluctant to fly on a 737 Max, in case it still carried flaws that originated in the Wichita factory.