Audit claims Boeing overcharged for helicopter parts
Oct 14, 2013, 9:27 AM | Updated: 11:57 am
A U.S. government audit claims Boeing padded its profits by using too many used parts in a $4.4 billion contract for Chinook helicopter components.
The report, obtained by Bloomberg News stated that Boeing “significantly overstated estimates of new parts needed for the model CH-47 Chinook.” While some used parts were allowed under the 2008 contract, the Pentagon’s inspector general claims Boeing overcharged the U.S. Army by as much as $16.6 million.
The audit also claimed that the Army “is paying for additional parts that they do not need.”
A former auditor for the inspector general, Henry Kleinknecht, blamed lack of technical and negotiating expertise among government, military contracting officials. He told Bloomberg the Army does not have a cost/price analysis program.
A Boeing spokesman issued a statement telling Bloomberg the company disagreed with the conclusions of the audit and was fully compliant with the contract.
