Boeing-owned Wisk Aero accused of firing manager who raised safety concerns

Wisk Aero, the electric air taxi company owned by Boeing, has been hit with a lawsuit from a former employee, who claims she was fired after raising safety concerns.

Former software manager Briahna O’Neill sued Wisk in Santa Clara Superior Court earlier this week, alleging discrimination and wrongful termination. The Seattle Times first reported on the lawsuit, noting that Boeing declined to comment.

O’Neill said she filed two internal safety reports that outlined how Wisk had engineers reduce the amount of FAA-required software testing being done in order to hit a test flight deadline in 2025. O’Neill claims she was fired just weeks after filing the second complaint.

Founded in 2019, Wisk is one of a number of companies trying to develop commercially viable electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. It’s one of the few companies working on aiming for full autonomy. Wisk is also one of the eight companies that were approved earlier this year by the FAA to join a three-year program for testing such aircraft. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.