Boeing sabotage update

Sorry for the quietness this morning - had a busy work day.

Boeing started production again on Chinook helicopters. If there was any doubt that this was not an accident, the Pentagon has removed it by offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the culprit.

I haven't had much time to scan news today, so please forgive me if any of this repeats what has already been reported. It's been confirmed to me that the washers were dropped into the oil sump of one of the transmissions - the one that combines the drive shafts from the engines and turns output shafts to the forward and aft rotors. The oil sump is protected by a debris screen which would have to be removed in order to place any foreign objects inside - not something that can happen by chance.

The wire harness was not cleanly cut, but looked as if someone used dull tin snips or scissors to sever, and struggled to do so. Both of the folks at the plant I spoke with agreed that this was not an accident.

I've heard that nailing the culprit may be difficult - Boeing has lots of security cameras in use to watch the perimeters of the buildings and grounds, but few positioned to view the interiors of buildings. While it may be possible that the list of potential suspects has been narrowed down to a short few, proof may be, for now, in short supply. The working assumption is that the acts occurred last weekend, when fewer folks were around to witness the damage.

Now that production has resumed, I expect the investigation will occur quietly in the background as most people will be focused on getting back on schedule. But I've been promised a call from a friend there should there be anything worth passing on. Stay tuned.