Boeing's subsidiary that develops autonomous air taxis is facing a whistleblower lawsuit regarding expedited software testing.

      A former software manager at Wisk Aero, which is a subsidiary of Boeing that focuses on autonomous air taxis, is suing the company, claiming she was dismissed for raising concerns about the reduction of FAA-mandated software testing. Briahna O’Neill has filed a lawsuit in Santa Clara Superior Court, alleging wrongful termination and discrimination. The complaint states that O’Neill submitted two internal safety reports indicating that company executives pressured engineers to reduce FAA-required software testing to meet a 2025 deadline for test flights.

      O’Neill asserts that she was terminated in March 2025, just weeks after submitting her second internal report. Wisk has indicated that it cannot comment on ongoing lawsuits, while Boeing has also refrained from commenting on the issue. The allegations have not yet been proven in court, and the case is still in its preliminary stages.

      Wisk was established in 2019 through a partnership between Boeing and Kitty Hawk, the air taxi firm supported by Google co-founder Larry Page, and is now fully owned by Boeing. The company is developing a completely autonomous electric air taxi intended to operate without a pilot onboard, managed remotely by a single operator who can oversee up to three aircraft simultaneously. This strategy differentiates Wisk from competitors like Joby Aviation, which employs a piloted model and is further along in the FAA certification process.

      Wisk’s Generation 6 aircraft successfully completed its inaugural flight in December 2025, followed by a second prototype flight in May 2026, effectively doubling its testing fleet. Wisk is one of eight companies chosen for the FAA’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, initiated in March 2026, which facilitates supervised commercial testing across 26 states over a three-year duration. The company is gearing up for operations in Texas as part of this programme.

      The lawsuit surfaces at a challenging time for Boeing’s overall safety reputation. Since 2020, the company has faced 32 whistleblower complaints reported to OSHA, according to federal records, and a Senate subcommittee has conducted hearings regarding what it labeled as Boeing’s "broken safety culture." There has been a growing trend of corporate retaliation against employees who voice concerns within the tech and aerospace sectors, resulting in a rise in legal actions in recent years.

      While it remains to be seen whether O’Neill's claims will be substantiated in court, the timing is particularly sensitive for Wisk. The company is seeking FAA certification for the first fully autonomous passenger aircraft in the United States, a process that hinges on regulators' assurance that its software systems adhere to the highest safety standards. A lawsuit claiming that those essential software testing requirements were intentionally compromised to meet an internal deadline raises significant questions that the FAA will need to address before any certification can be granted.