Whistleblowers Claim Oregon Aerospace Company Falsified Records of Poorly Finished Parts for F-35 Fighter Jets

Two former employees at the aerospace company Selmet Inc. in Albany, Oregon, claim that records were falsified and parts poorly finished to meet production quotas and deadlines for U.S. military F35 fighter jets in a federal suit filed in Eugene.

After the two employees repeatedly reported the alleged fraud to their supervisors, one was fired by the company, and the other was ‘pushed out’ when offered a demotion.

Judge Unseals Lawsuit Filed in 2020

The whistleblower complaint against Selmet was recently unsealed by a judge. The suit was originally filed in 2020. The suit accuses the manufacturer of violating the False Claims Act and it is typical of the government to seek the sealing of a complaint while investigating such cases.

According to the suit, Selmet is a major subcontractor for engine exhaust nozzle parts, raising the comment by former inspector Stephen Cardwell…’…imagine a pilot going in to drop bombs…and his thrusters go out because we didn’t do our work properly.’ The suit says this is a frequent comment Cardwell made in front of co-workers when raising concerns internally.

A U.S. Government Investigation is Ongoing

An investigation into the claims is ongoing by the U.S. government, and last month notified the court that it had not yet decided if it would intervene on behalf of the two complainants.

The two complainants who are represented by attorney Patrick S. Almonrode are Stephen Cardwell, an evening shift inspector from March 2019 to October 2019 when he was placed under pressure to leave, and John LaPlant, a night supervisor in the plant where the final inspection and testing of parts took place before shipment, who joined the company in October 2017 before being fired on July 31, 2019.

Selmet manufactures flaps for the exhaust nozzles on the F-35 jets that are bought by Pratt & Whitney with U.S. Department of Defense funds. The exhaust nozzle parts must undergo multiple inspections before they are shipped for installation in military and civilian planes.

Line Workers Were Encouraged to ‘Cut Corners’

According to the suit, parts could be heat-treated, ground, welded, and placed in chemical baths to ensure proper fit and function. However, the whistleblowers say that Selmet supervisors encouraged line workers to ‘cut corners’ by skipping some steps to meet production demands.

The suit claims that defect detection processes frequently skipped were visual/dimensional inspections (using the human eye, X-ray, and measurements) and liquid-penetrant testing.

The complainants allege that supervisors falsified documents or required workers to do so, showing ’…work had been performed when it had not…and parts were ready to ship when they were not.’ The suit says ‘throughput’ was the workplace culture at Selmet.

The two whistleblowers claim that many substandard parts were installed in the F-35s, as well as in other military planes.

When LaPlant raised concerns, he was told by supervisors ‘not to worry about things that are not part of his job.’ He was then called to his supervisor’s office on July 31, 2019, and informed that he was being fired for not responding to emails promptly. LaPlant says this was a ‘pretext’ because he had raised concerns.

Cardwell alleges that supervisors often overrode his decisions to reject parts that had failed an inspection and had falsified paperwork to enable them to be shipped. The suit also alleges that someone in the company put Cardwell’s employee number on the paperwork, indicating that he had given clearance for the parts.

In October 2019, Cardwell was presented with two choices – accepting a lower-level job or taking a day shift post as an inspector reporting to two supervisors who had previously ‘demeaned and mocked’ him.

The two complainants are seeking reinstatement of their jobs and back pay. They are also seeking a civil penalty against Selmet and a court order directing the company to stop its alleged fraud, to help the government track and remove faulty parts on military aircraft, and to replace them at Selmet’s expense.