The 62-year-old whistleblower and former Boeing quality control engineer John Barnett was discovered dead after raising concerns about the company’s production standards. According to the Charleston County Coroner’s Office, Barnett appears to have shot himself in the head. He was supposed to be questioned more on the day he failed to show up, and his death happened days after he was cross-examined by Boeing’s lawyers and his own counsel.
Before retiring from Boeing in 2017, Barnett worked there for more than thirty years. During that time, he openly questioned the company’s policies, especially those pertaining to the 787 Dreamliner aircraft. He told the BBC in 2019 that he thought the aircraft’s safety had been jeopardized by their hurried manufacture. Barnett specifically brought attention to a serious problem with the 787 Dreamliners’ emergency oxygen systems, claiming a 25% failure rate. This implied that 25% of these aircraft might not be able to supply enough oxygen in the case of cabin decompression, putting passengers at risk of suffocating.
When Barnett began working at Boeing’s North Charleston factory in 2010, he brought up these issues with his management, but he said that nothing meaningful was done. When the Federal Aviation Administration investigated Boeing in 2017 and mandated that the business rectify some of the flaws he had brought up, his accusations received some validation.
Barnett was also concerned about Boeing’s 737 Max 9 aircraft, believing that they were being brought back into service too quickly after experiencing safety problems. His steadfast efforts to draw attention to these safety issues demonstrated his passion to upholding integrity and passenger safety in the aviation sector.
Boeing conveyed their condolences for Barnett’s demise and offered their best wishes to his friends and family. Authorities in South Carolina are presently investigating the event.
Due to Barnett’s passing, there is greater awareness of the difficulties that whistleblowers encounter as well as the vital role that they serve in maintaining corporate responsibility and safety in sectors where the stakes are very high.