A former Boeing worker identified for elevating considerations in regards to the security of its planes was discovered useless simply earlier than a deposition he was reportedly scheduled to provide towards the corporate.
John Barnett, 62, was found with an obvious self-inflicted gunshot wound to the top exterior of a Vacation Inn in Charleston, South Carolina, on Saturday, the Charleston Police Division mentioned in an announcement that cited the native county coroner’s workplace, which individually confirmed his demise to JS.
His discovery in a automobile, simply earlier than 10:20 a.m., adopted a request for a welfare examine on the resort, police mentioned.
“We perceive the worldwide consideration this case has garnered, and it’s our precedence to make sure that the investigation will not be influenced by hypothesis however is led by info and proof,” the police division mentioned, declining to remark additional as a result of ongoing investigation.
Juliette Michel by way of Getty Pictures
Barnett was in the midst of a defamation case towards Boeing after claiming to have witnessed a collection of questions of safety throughout his 32 years working for the aviation large, the BBC reported.
The previous high quality management engineer, who retired from Boeing in 2017, was one in every of a number of workers who spoke out publicly about questions of safety within the years after manufacturing first began on Boeing’s 787 Dreamliners close to Charleston.
Barnett, who the coroner’s workplace mentioned was from Louisiana, had been in Charleston for authorized interviews final week after accusing Boeing of denigrating his character and hampering his profession due to the problems he identified. He was scheduled to endure additional questioning Saturday when he failed to look, his legal professional, who didn’t instantly reply to JS’s request for remark, informed the BBC.
Boeing, in an announcement to JS, mentioned it’s saddened by Barnett’s demise and expressed condolences to his household and associates.
Barnett was amongst a number of workers who had accused the corporate of repeatedly ignoring questions of safety to fast-track the Dreamliner’s manufacturing.
In a 2019 interview with The New York Times, Barnett mentioned that he filed a whistleblower criticism with regulators after discovering metallic shavings hanging over wiring that instructions the aircraft’s flight controls, placing the wires in jeopardy of “catastrophic” damage throughout flight.
He repeatedly reported the shavings to his bosses, however mentioned his requests to have them eliminated had been ignored and he was moved to a different a part of the plant.
Boeing, on the time of that criticism, reportedly mentioned that the problem didn’t current a flight security subject.
“As a top quality supervisor at Boeing, you’re the final line of protection earlier than a defect makes it out to the flying public,” Barnett informed the Instances. “And I haven’t seen a aircraft out of Charleston but that I’d put my identify on saying it’s secure and airworthy.”
Barnett additionally raised considerations to the BBC in 2019 in regards to the planes’ oxygen methods, saying that testing discovered a failure charge of 25%. He mentioned that nothing was finished to enhance them, nonetheless.
Boeing has been below the microscope since a door panel blew off of a 737 Max 9 jet in midair again in January. A preliminary report launched by the Nationwide Transportation Security Board final month concluded that staff seemingly did not reattach bolts to the door throughout restore work.
Within the weeks after that incident, Alaska Airways and United Airways, that are the one two U.S. airways utilizing Boeing’s Max 9 jets, reported discovering free bolts and different set up points on a few of the planes.
A Federal Aviation Administration audit of Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems, which manufactures the 737 Max’s fuselage, not too long ago discovered “a number of cases wherein the businesses allegedly did not adjust to manufacturing high quality management necessities,” the FAA mentioned.
Boeing was given 90 days to stipulate a plan of motion in response to the FAA’s findings. It was additionally ordered to overview and tackle separate findings by a panel of outdoor specialists, who examined security tradition inside the firm relationship again to 2 737 Max 8 crashes in 2018 and 2019.
