John Barnett, 62, was discovered dead in a truck close to a hotel parking lot in South Carolina on Monday. Before retiring in 2017, the Boeing employee turned whistleblower worked for the airline for 32 years.
Charleston police told the BBC that the investigation into the death of the former quality manager at Boeing’s North Charleston factory was still ongoing. His wound was “self-inflicted.” The ex-employee of Boeing had voiced concerns regarding the production standards of the company.
Barnett died while the whistleblower retaliation lawsuit was in session. He claimed that workers under duress were deliberately fitting inferior parts on airplanes while they were being assembled. According to him, to prevent delays, inferior parts were occasionally physically taken out of scrap bins and added to aircraft that weren’t yet finished. His concerns were validated by an FAA inspection in 2017, which compelled Boeing to take action.
Barnett recently provided a deposition to Boeing’s legal representatives regarding the matter, according to a statement made by his attorney, Brian Knowles, to the Daily Mail.
List of claims made by Boeing whistleblower John Barnett
In 2012, Barnett became the plant’s quality manager for Boeing in North Charleston. In 2017, he announced his retirement. The former worker claimed to the BBC that workers were installing inferior parts on the aircrafts.
The 62-year-old continued by saying he had discovered problems with the oxygen systems.
Additionally, he had expressed his worries about workers speeding through the procedure and jeopardizing safety. Boeing refuted every allegation.
Recently, a “technical event” on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner on its way from Australia to New Zealand on Monday caused “a strong movement” that startled people out of their seats. The first responders treated about fifty individuals.
