Who is John Barnett, the Boeing whistleblower mysteriously found dead in US?

John Barnett, a former Boeing employee who had raised concerns about the company’s production standards, has been found dead in the United States, BBC reports.

The opposite counsel would ask him more questions on Saturday before the hotel authority found him dead in his truck in the parking lot in Charleston, South Carolina. The reason for his death is not revealed yet. Doesn’t it sound fishy to you?

Barnett, who worked for Boeing for 32 years until his retirement in 2017, had been giving evidence in a whistleblower lawsuit against the aerospace giant.

Who is John Barnett?

The 62-year-old had served as a quality manager at the North Charleston plant, responsible for producing the cutting-edge 787 Dreamliner. His recent testimony focused on allegations that under-pressure workers deliberately installed sub-standard parts to aircraft on the production line.

Plus, Barnett claimed to have uncovered serious issues with oxygen systems, raising concerns that one in four breathing masks might fail in an emergency.

Boeing expressed sadness at the news of Barnett’s passing, with the Charleston County coroner confirming that he died from a “self-inflicted” wound on March 9, prompting a police investigation.

“We are saddened by Mr. Barnett’s passing, and our thoughts are with his family and friends,” Boeing expressed in a statement.

Barnett had retired in 2017 due to health reasons but continued to be involved in a legal battle against Boeing, accusing the company of harming his career and denigrating his character in response to the safety concerns he raised.

John Barnett always pointed fingers towards Boeing for safety concerns

In a 2019 interview with the BBC, Barnett detailed his worries about rushed assembly processes compromising safety standards. He alleged that workers failed to follow procedures to track components, allowing defective parts to go missing. He also claimed that sub-standard components were taken from scrap bins and fitted to planes under construction to prevent production delays.

At the end of 2017, the FAA ended up upholding several of Barnett’s concerns though. Boeing has at least 53 parts in non-conforming manufacturing facility, as the place of the production is unknown. Therefore, FAA called for Boeing to provide the persisting issues with remedial actions. Concerning the problems related to the oxygen systems, Boeing released a statement indicating that “some oxygen bottles have been delivered from the supplier that have not performed the function properly.”

Barnett, then retired, still kept up legal skirmishes against Boeing. He was in town for legal interviews, most probably related to the case, when he had the accident. Last week he gave his deposition which was, in response, taken by the Boeing’s lawyers who cross-examined him as well as his own side had his counsel. He was planned to be questioned for further details on Saturday, though he was never seen to be there, closing all the inquiries at the hotel, his dead body was found in his truck in the hotel car park.

Boeing production accepted long periods, in view of some recent occurrences which arise from an instance where a 737 Max emergency exit door exploded when it was moments after takeoff.

During the audit that lasted for six weeks, the FAA found “multiple instances” where Normandy did not take for granted the quality control during production.