Ryanair engineers 'forced to check every new Boeing over manufacturing process fears'
Michael O'Leary has revealed that a team of engineers check every Boeing aircraft that Ryanair buys because of concerns over the manufacturing process.
The Ryanair boss said previous problems with Boeing jets fresh off the production line meant that every aircraft undergoes a safety inspection before it is allowed to fly under the carrier's name.
His comments emerged after a London-bound 787 Dreamliner made by the American company crashed in the Indian city of Ahmedabad moments after take-off on Thursday, killing all but one passenger on board.
There is no suggestion yet that Boeing was at fault in the Air India disaster. Mr O'Leary, whose airline uses only Boeing aircraft and is regarded in the industry as one of the world's safest low-cost carriers, said a team of 30 inspection engineers oversaw Boeing's manufacturing in America.
Once a new aircraft arrives at Ryanair's Irish headquarters, local engineers then conduct a 48-hour inspection.
'Only once we are completely happy does it go into operation,' Mr O'Leary told The Times.
'We had planes being delivered and when we get them back to Dublin we find spanners and tools under the floorboards.'
His concerns were heightened last night after a Boeing engineer turned whistleblower called for a secret investigation, believed to have uncovered safety concerns with the 787 Dreamliner, to be published.
Sam Salehpour claimed last year that 'shortcuts' were used in manufacturing the aircraft's fuselage and that engineers embedded drilling debris between joints in more than 1,000 planes, weakening the structure, shortening the planes' lifespan and risking 'catastrophic events'.
A report by America's Federal Aviation Authority into his claims has yet to be made public.
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