Former Boeing employee found dead after testifying against the company

Published at: 12/03/2024 12:25 PM

Former Boeing employee John Barnett was found dead in the parking lot of a hotel in Charleston County, United States (USA), a few days after testifying against the aeronautical company.

According to the Charleston medical examiner's office, Barnett, 62, died Friday apparently from a “self-inflicted wound.”

The death of the former worker comes as Boeing is under increased regulatory scrutiny for its manufacturing process of 737 Max aircraft after a door exploded on a flight in the air in January, an incident that initiated a widespread investigation and discovered lax quality control.

According to the BBC, Barnett worked for the American aeronautical giant for 32 years, until his retirement in 2017 for health reasons. Since 2010, he worked as quality manager at the North Charleston plant manufacturing the 787 Dreamliner, a next-generation passenger aircraft used primarily on long-haul routes.

In 2019, he told the British broadcaster that “workers under pressure had been deliberately installing substandard parts to airplanes on the production line.” He also said he had discovered “serious problems with oxygen systems, which could mean that one in four respiratory masks wouldn't work in an emergency.”

Barnett had testified a few days ago in the lawsuit he filed against Boeing for hampering his career because of his complaints and was about to undergo a second interrogation related to the case.

The company, one of the five major arms companies in the United States, earned more than 30 billion dollars in 2023 for its contracts with the Pentagon and other State agencies. With the invasion of Gaza, the company was enriched by the sale of its JDAM bombs, which are often dropped by the Israeli Army.

It is estimated that the CEO of Boeing, David Calhoun, earned 64 million dollars in dividends reported by the company last year alone. He holds a total of 193,000 shares of the company, according to information available on Yahoo Finance and reported by Common Dream.

Mazo News Team