Whistleblower found dead

Former Boeing worker who filed complaint on quality controls likely killed self, coroner says

A former Boeing manager who raised safety questions about the aircraft maker has been found dead outside a hotel in South Carolina, according to local authorities.

The body of John Barnett, 62, was found Saturday in a car outside a Holiday Inn, suffering from what the Charleston County Coroner’s Office said appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The Louisiana resident was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police in Charleston said detectives were waiting for a formal determination of the cause of death and “any additional findings that might shed further light on the circumstances surrounding” the end of Barnett’s life. Police noted “the global attention this case has garnered.”

Barnett was a longtime Boeing employee and worked as a quality-control manager before he retired in 2017. In the years after that, he shared his concerns with journalists.

“John was deeply concerned about the safety of the aircraft and flying public, and had identified some serious defects that he felt were not adequately addressed,” Barnett’s brother, Rodney, said in a family statement to The Associated Press on Tuesday. “He said that Boeing had a culture of concealment and was putting profits over safety.”

Rodney Barnett said working at Boeing created stress for John.

“He was suffering from PTSD and anxiety attacks as a result of being subjected to the hostile work environment at Boeing, which we believe led to his death,” the brother said.

Boeing, in a one-sentence statement, said, “We are saddened by Mr. Barnett’s passing, and our thoughts are with his family and friends.”

Barnett filed a whistleblower complaint with the government, which is still pending. A hearing on the case was scheduled for June.

In response to a Federal Aviation Administration probe into Boeing’s quality controls, the company said Tuesday that it would work with employees found to have violated company manufacturing procedures to make sure they understand instructions for their jobs.

The aircraft maker detailed its latest steps to correct lapses in quality in a memo to employees from Stan Deal, president of Boeing’s commercial plane division.

The memo went out after the FAA finished a six-week review of the company’s manufacturing processes for the 737 Max jetliner after a panel blew off one of the planes during an Alaska Airlines flight en route to Ontario in January.

IANDEWARPHOTOGRAPHY — DREAMSTIME/TNS Former Boeing employee John Barnett, a whistleblower who raised concerns about quality control and safety issues in the company’ production line, was found dead near a South Carolina hotel, police said.