A whistleblower who gave evidence in a case against Boeing has been found dead in South Carolina. John Barnett, who worked as a quality manager at the 737 Max maker until 2017, was found dead this weekend just days after he was questioned in a legal case he brought against Boeing.
Barnett, who worked at Boeing for more than 30 years, was found dead on Saturday, reports the BBC. The coroner’s office in South Carolina confirmed on Monday that the 62-year-old was found dead in his truck in a hotel car park with a “self-inflicted” wound cited as the cause of his death. The BBC reports:
Mr Barnett had worked for the US plane giant for 32 years, until his retirement in 2017 on health grounds.
From 2010, he worked as a quality manager at the North Charleston plant making the 787 Dreamliner, a state-of-the-art airliner used mainly on long-haul routes.
In 2019, Mr Barnett told the BBC that under-pressure workers had been deliberately fitting sub-standard parts to aircraft on the production line.
Since leaving his role with Boeing, Barnett has spent years exposing issues with the production practices at Boeing. This included highlighting the company “rushing” certain aspects of production to get planes out the door quicker, and he uncovered issues with oxygen supplies onboard that meant “one in four breathing masks would not work in an emergency,” reports the BBC.
Prior to his death, Barnett had been embroiled in legal proceedings against Boeing after accusing the company of “denigrating his character and hampering his career.” The ex-quality manager was questioned by Boeing’s lawyers in the week before his death, and he was cross-examined by his own counsel.
Barnett had been due to give further evidence in proceedings on Saturday, the BBC reports.