re: Boeing whistleblower John Barnett tells Boeing to kiss his a** in 'suicide note'

Two Boeing whistleblowers have died recently. Here’s what we know about their cases:

John Barnett:
John Barnett was a former Boeing quality inspector who filed a whistleblower complaint over alleged plane safety flaws.

He worked at Boeing for over 30 years and first filed the complaint against his employer in 2017.

Barnett spoke publicly about safety concerns related to Boeing’s production of the 787 Dreamliner airplane, which he claimed the company’s management routinely ignored.

In the days leading up to his death, Barnett was providing a deposition about Boeing’s safety lapses in Charleston, South Carolina.

He was found dead in his car from what the Charleston coroner’s office called a self-inflicted gunshot wound

Boeing reviewed and addressed quality issues that Barnett raised before he retired in 2017, but engineering analysis determined that the issues he raised did not affect airplane safety.

Joshua Dean:
Joshua Dean did not work for Boeing directly; he worked for Spirit AeroSystems, a Boeing contractor linked to manufacturing defects in the Boeing 737 MAX plane.

Dean was a quality auditor at Spirit AeroSystems and initially reported a problem to management in October 2022.

He raised concerns about improperly drilled holes in the bulkhead of the 737 MAX, which could lead to depressurization of the plane’s cabin during flight.

In April 2023, Boeing and Spirit announced a separate manufacturing defect in the 737 MAX related to fittings on the tail fin.
Dean died unexpectedly after a “struggle with a sudden, fast-spreading infection” on May 1, 2024.

Both men had publicly complained about safety lapses and mismanagement in their respective companies. The timing of their deaths has led to speculation, but the exact circumstances remain a matter of investigation and debate.