Boeing Whistleblower Found Dead in Hotel Parking Lot

Lawyers for the Boeing employee-turned-whistleblower who died by apparent suicide have described him as “a brave, honest man of the highest integrity.” Authorities are currently examining John Barnett’s death, which appears to be the result of an alleged self-inflicted wound.

In 2017, Mr. Barnett departed from Boeing after more than 30 years of service. He was giving evidence in a lawsuit against the firm when he died. Two of his lawyers urged police to thoroughly investigate how he died.

“John was in the midst of a deposition in his whistleblower retaliation case, which was finally nearing its end,” Robert Turkewitz and Brian Knowles told the BBC.

“He was in good spirits and eager to put this chapter of his life behind him and move on.” We saw no sign that he might commit suicide. “Nobody can believe it.” They urged officials in Charleston, South Carolina, to share additional details about what happened, writing, “No detail can be left unturned.”

Mr Turkewitz and Mr Knowles both stated that Mr Barnett was someone who “cared dearly” about his family, friends, and Boeing, from its pilots to consumers.

Mr Barnett worked as a quality manager at the North Charleston plant that produces the 787 Dreamliner, a cutting-edge airliner used primarily on long-haul routes, from 2010 until his health forced him to resign.

As an employee, he “learned of and exposed very serious safety problems with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and was retaliated against and subjected to a hostile work environment” , according to his lawyer. After retirement, he launched a long-running legal battle against the firm.

He accused it of undermining his integrity and jeopardizing his career because of the issues he raised – allegations that Boeing disputed.

Mr Barnett was in Charleston at the time of his death for legal interviews related to that case, and he gave a formal deposition last week in which he was questioned by Boeing’s lawyers and then cross-examined by his own counsel.

He was scheduled to be questioned again on Saturday. When he did not show up, police inquired at his hotel.

He was subsequently discovered dead in his truck in the hotel parking lot.

Mr. Barnett’s brother informed US media that taking on his long-time employer had caused him to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and his health had deteriorated.

“He was suffering from PTSD and anxiety attacks as a result of being subjected to the hostile work environment at Boeing, which we believe led to his death,” Rodney Barnett, the company’s president, stated.

Mr Barnett went on to say that his brother “was looking forward to having his day in court and hoped that it would force Boeing to change its culture”.

The quality manager was known for raising worries about the US jet manufacturer’s production standards, telling the BBC in 2019 that under-pressure staff had purposefully fitted substandard parts to aircraft on the production line.

He later told the BBC that staff had failed to follow processes designed to track components throughout the production, resulting in defective components going missing.

He also stated that he had discovered major issues with oxygen systems, which might imply that one in every four breathing masks would fail in an emergency.

He stated that shortly after beginning work in South Carolina, he became concerned that the haste to build new airplanes hampered the assembly process and jeopardized safety, which the corporation denied. Mr Barnett stated that he had alerted managers about his concerns, but no action had occurred.

Boeing refuted his accusations. However, a 2017 study by the US regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), supported some of Mr Barnett’s worries. It was determined that the whereabouts of at least 53 “non-conforming” parts in the factory were unknown and were presumed lost.

Regarding the oxygen cylinders, the business stated that in 2017, it “identified some oxygen bottles received from the supplier that were not deploying properly”. However, it denied that any of them were really installed aboard aircraft.

Mr. Barnett’s death comes at a time when both Boeing and its main supplier Spirit Aerosystems are facing intensive examination of their production standards.

Last Monday, the FAA announced that a six-week examination of the corporation had discovered “multiple instances where the company allegedly failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements”.

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