Takata Whistle Blower Willing To Testify On Deadly Airbag Flaws

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A former Takata Corp. engineer has told a U.S. congressional committee he’s willing to testify that he warned of deadly consequences before the company chose a design for airbags that were later recalled due to lethal flaws. Mark Lillie, who left the Japanese auto-parts maker in 1999, said his departure was tied to Takata’s disregard of his warnings against using the chemical compound ammonium nitrate to inflate its airbags. More than 24 million cars with Takata inflators have since been recalled worldwide because the devices can deploy with too much force, causing them to rupture and shoot metal fragments at motorists.

Takata has formed an independent review panel to investigate manufacturing weaknesses that thrust the company into the center of a global recall crisis, while defending its decision to use ammonium nitrate propellant. Its airbags have been linked to six deaths in Honda cars. Takata didn’t directly address Lillie’s account of discussions within the company about ammonium nitrate or the circumstances of his departure.

The company’s review panel will "conduct a comprehensive review to ensure Takata’s current manufacturing procedures meet best practices in the production of safe inflators," Takata said in an e-mail. "We look forward to their findings and recommendations, which will be shared publicly at the culmination of their review."

U.S. lawmakers have criticized Takata for continuing to use ammonium nitrate in replacement airbags for recalled vehicles. A review of the company’s patents in December showed Takata researchers have been aware of the instability of ammonium nitrate since at least 1985. Takata said in December that airbag inflator manufacturers have to balance the potential risks and benefits of different types of propellant and that the company uses methods to stabilize ammonium nitrate.

Lillie left the company before it began making inflators with ammonium nitrate-based propellant. 

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