The whistleblower who publicly raised doubts about Boeing’s production standards met a tragic end.
John Barnett, 62, a former quality control engineer at Boeing, was found dead on Saturday, with the Charleston County Coroner’s Office confirming that his death appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Barnett had been cross-examined by Boeing’s lawyers and his own attorney days before his demise, with the court planning for him to answer more questions on Saturday. He had worked for Boeing for over three decades before retiring in 2017.
In 2019, Barnett revealed to the BBC that Boeing would rush to get its 787 Dreamliner jets off the production line, compromising safety. He alleged that the emergency oxygen systems for the 787 Dreamliners had a failure rate of 25%, potentially leading to passenger suffocation in case of sudden cabin decompression.
Barnett claimed he had encountered these issues when he began working at Boeing’s North Charleston plant in 2010 and raised concerns to his managers, but no action was taken. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reviewed Boeing in 2017 and ordered the company to take action, corroborating some of Barnett’s allegations.
Recently, Barnett expressed concerns about Boeing returning its 737 Max 9 jets to the sky too quickly after an incident where an Alaska Airlines jet’s door panel blew off midflight.
Barnett’s death comes amid one of the worst crises for Boeing, with the FAA releasing a report on observed manufacturing safety gaps, including workers using hotel key cards as tools and dish soap during installations.
Boeing shares were down about 3% after Wall Street opened, reflecting the company’s ongoing struggles.
