From MarketWatch:

“Two former auditors of Boeing have alleged that parts used to assemble the Boeing 737NG between 1994 and 2002 were made with parts the airline knew were defective, the U.K. television news channel Sky News reported Monday.

Former auditors Taylor Smith and Jeannine Prewitt told the news station that Boeing accepted defective parts from Ducommun, a Californian supplier, and installed them even though they knew them to be faulty and potentially dangerous, the report said. The components are crucial to the safety of an aircraft’s fuselages, the report added.

The auditors making the allegations were demoted and dismissed, the report said, and filed a lawsuit in 2005 under whistleblower laws, where evidential hearings haven’t taken place. Boeing said the auditors’ case didn’t have merit and said the airplane maker has a multi-tiered control process to maintain quality and safety.”