So much for RII.
I believe it. I've seen far too much of it over far too many years, not to.
I have a close connection to Boeing, which need not be disclosed. Nothing here suprises me, though I've seen this with several other manufacturers, a number of operators, and repair stations and other shops and facilities, from Air Tractor to Cessna to Boeing to McDonnel Douglas to...it goes on and on. As a pilot I've dealt with it doing function test flights, maintenance test, and other such functions, and as a mechanic, inspector, and so on, dealt with it in the shop, on the line, and so forth. A recounting of many experiences yields reports so fantastic that they'd be implausible in a fiction novel, but are endemic to government operators, manufacturers, repair statiosn, airlines, corporate departments, ad infinitum.
Whistleblowing is merely a term for "truth revealed."