P.M. BRIEFING : Boeing Probes Jetliner Sabotage

Boeing Co. is investigating what apparently is a case of industrial sabotage, after a jetliner failed tests because of wires that had been cut.

“It clearly seems to have been deliberate,” T. Craig Martin, Boeing Commercial Airplane Group spokesman, said late Monday. “The evidence at this point would suggest it would be an employee but we want to find out for sure.”

Boeing’s security personnel are investigating, the company said in a statement.

The Boeing 737 was in final assembly and undergoing testing at a Renton plant when the cut wires were discovered, Martin said. It had not been determined in what stage of construction the wires were cut, he said.

The damage was found about two weeks ago, KIRO-TV reported. “Scores” of wires were severed, the TV station reported. It said there was a pattern of one or two wires cut in a bundle of wires and the broken ends hidden deep inside the bundle to mask the damage.