A380 Whistleblower in Trouble

[Pangloss]

Fascinating, in-depth story about the case of Joseph Mangan, an American engineer who "blew the whistle" on Airbus, accusing them of knowing and covering-up design flaws in the pressure valve control systems of the A380. An error could lead to a depressurization tragedy like the recent one in Greece. The story goes into quite a lot of detail about the technical issues involved, and is well worth a read.

 

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-whistleblower27sep27,0,7486292.story

 

In a nutshell, Mangan is an engineer (an expert in fluid dynamics) who worked on the chip that is supposed to control the pressure valves in the A380. The system is unique in civil aviation, in that it has no manual override system. And the system's flow rate is so high that if the valves were to become locked into an open position, there may not be enough time for the pilots to don their oxygen masks before passing out. (The recent crash in Greece would seem to really underscore the importance of this, although of course in that case the pilots had the ability to fix the problem, but failed to recognize what was happening.)

 

One thing that's interesting about this case from a political perspective is that Mangan has faced a massive legal battle as a result of his actions. The article puts a lot of emphasis on the fact that Austria has no whistle-blower shield laws. (Personally I'm keeping an open mind about that -- surely Europeans will recognize the value of Mangan's position IF it turns out to be true.)

 

The "whistleblower" angle is, I think, one of the most interesting questions we face today in that grey area between science and politics. Should such people be protected? What if their information turns out to be false, but cost the company a boatload of cash to defend its tarnished reputation? Is there a common ground here?

 

Thoughts?