Boeing whistleblower found dead in car park after testifying about plane firm

12 March 2024 , 17:04

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John Barnett was found dead in his truck in the car park of his South Carolina hotel

A Boeing whistleblower has been found dead in the car park of his hotel days after testifying in a bombshell lawsuit against the plane production company.

John Barnett, 62, worked for Boeing for 32 years, until his retirement in 2017. In the days before his death, he had been giving evidence in a lawsuit. Last week, he gave a formal deposition and was questioned by Boeing's lawyers, before being cross-examined by his own counsel.

He was due to undergo further questioning on Saturday. However, after failing to show up for the second part of his testimony, inquiries were made and he was found dead in his truck in the car park of his South Carolina hotel. It is said he died from an apparent "self-inflicted" gunshot wound and police are investigating.

READ MORE: Alaska Airlines passengers on terrifying door blow-out flight sue company for $1BILLION

Dave Calhoun, chief executive officer of Boeing (Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Talking to the BBC, Mr Barnett's lawyer described his death as "tragic". Attorney Brian Knowles told TMZ that he had explicit doubt about the circumstances of his death - and called the self-inflicted gunshot "alleged".

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Mr Knowles told Corporate Crime Reporter: "Today is a tragic day. John had been back and forth for quite some time getting prepared. The defense examined him for their allowed seven hours under the rules on Thursday. I cross-examined him all day yesterday (Friday) and did not finish.

"We agreed to continue this morning at 10 a.m. (co-counsel) Rob (Turkewitz) kept calling this morning and his (Barnett's) phone would go to voicemail. We then asked the hotel to check on him. They found him in his truck dead from an 'alleged' self-inflicted gunshot. We drove to the hotel and spoke with the police and the coroner."

Mr Barnett had worked for Boeing for over three decades as a quality control engineer. In 2019, he told the BBC that Boeing had compromised safety by rushing to get its 787 Dreamliner jets off the production line.

The company has been under intense scrutiny in recent months due to a number of issues on its planes, including when a door plug blew out during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. A preliminary report from the US National Transportation Safety Board suggested that four key bolts, designed to hold the door securely in place, were not fitted.

A door-sized section blew off 10 minutes after Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 took off from Portland, Oregon on January 5 on its way to Ontario, California (Getty Images)

Following the incident, the Federal Aviation Administration discovered "unacceptable" quality control issues during an audit into Boeing and supplier Spirit AeroSystems. The FAA said a six-week audit of the company found "multiple instances where the company allegedly failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements."

In January, Mr Barnett told ABC News Australia: "Once you understand what's happening inside of Boeing, you'll see why we're seeing these kinds of issues." In a statement issued after Mr Barnett's death, Boeing said: "We are saddened by Mr. Barnett's passing, and our thoughts are with his family and friends."

Chiara Fiorillo