A former Boeing employee has been charged with 16 counts of computer trespass for leaking sensitive information to the media.
Gerald Lee Eastman, a quality assurance inspector in Boeing's Seattle-based propulsion division, was arrested in May last year and then sacked after the aircraft manufacturer investigated claims he had downloaded and passed on sensitive internal documents to newspapers.
A Seattle police detective alleged that Eastman had downloaded documents that contained information he did not have authorisation to access and shared some of it with reporters at the Seattle Times and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Boeing said it took such allegations "seriously" and followed them up.
Eastman had been "disgruntled" by Boeing's response to concerns about safety inspections to the company and to the US Federal Aviation Administration according to the court.
A search of Mr Eastman's home uncovered more than 300,000 pages of Boeing-related documents, leading to his arrest.
Mr Eastman told reporters that he was disappointed by the charges and said that what he had done was "allowed" for under Boeing policy.
Related stories
- 2007 so far is safest year in airline history
- So far.... so good - World airline safety
- Visit our 787 Aircraft Profile page for more Boeing 787 related news
Related pictures
Source: FlightGlobal.com
