NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The president of Newport News Shipbuilding, Jennifer Boykin, discovered the quality of welds on some submarines and aircrafts were faulty.
In addition, Boykin suspected the welds were done by welders who knowingly violated various weld procedures.
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"This issue was brought to light by shipbuilders who did the right thing and came forward by either self-reporting or calling the HII OpenLine," said Boykin on Facebook. "I thank them for their honesty and bravery."
After an investigation was conducted, the Department of Justice was called.
Huntington Ingalls Industries sent News 3 this statement:
“HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding is committed to building the highest-quality aircraft carriers and submarines for the U.S. Navy. We do not tolerate any conduct that compromises our company’s values and our mission of delivering ships that safeguard our nation and its sailors. We discovered through internal reporting that some welders knowingly circumvented certain welding procedures. Based on our initial investigation, there is no indication of malicious intent. Upon this discovery, we took action to communicate with our customers and regulators, investigate, determine root causes, bound the issue, and put in place immediate corrective actions as we work through longer-term solutions.”
Todd Corillo, spokesperson for Huntington Ingalls Industries
