PASSENGERS travelling on a Boeing Dreamliner 787 aircraft could be "without oxygen if the cabin depressurises" according to a whistleblower.
A former quality control engineer claims that parts, which were needed to supply oxygen to the cabin and were fitted to planes in one of the Boeing factories, were faulty.
John Barnett, who worked for the company for 32 years and retired in 2017, told the BBC that Boeing was in a "rush" to get the aircraft out of production.
The model is currently being used by airlines including British Airways and TUI.
He explained that the fault, which he discovered in 2016, was with the emergency oxygen systems.
John found that many were not "discharging" when they they're meant to.
After running tests, the 57-year-old claims that 75 out of 300 did not work properly – a fail rate of 25 per cent.
The systems are needed to provide oxygen for crew and passengers if the cabin suddenly depressurises.
When it does, oxygen masks drop, which supply oxygen using the system.
Without this system, there could be serious consequences for passengers.
According to a study by Airbus, passengers have just 18 seconds of "moderate" consciousness at 40,000ft, before they would pass out.
With the body unable to get any oxygen, this could also lead to brain damage and even death.
John added that he tried to get the matter looked into, but was "stonewalled" by Boeing.
He added: "Based on my years of experience and past history of plane accidents, I believe it's just a matter of time before something big happens with a 787."
A Boeing spokesperson refuted the claims to the BBC, stating that while "some oxygen bottles" were not deploying properly in 2017, they were "removed from production".
They added that every system is "tested multiple times" to make sure it is working, both during production and when the aircraft is in operation.
Last month, a number of Boeing 737 NG planes were grounded after cracks were found in the wings.
Boeing was also forced to ground all of their 737 Max jets in March after two crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia which killed 346 people.
The CAA banned the plane from flying over UK airspace, with TUI and Norwegian airlines mainly affected.
Sun Online Travel contacted Boeing for comment.
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