Family of Boeing whistleblower settles lawsuit with aircraft maker over his death

The family of a former Boeing quality control manager who died by suicide after lawyers questioned him about his whistleblowing on alleged jumbo jet defects has settled a lawsuit against the aircraft maker.

CHARLESTON, S.C. — The family of a former Boeing quality control manager who died by suicide after lawyers questioned him about his whistleblowing on alleged jumbo jet defects has settled a lawsuit against the aircraft maker.

Details of the settlement over John Barnett’s death were not disclosed in a court filing Monday.

Barnett, a longtime Boeing employee, shared his safety concerns with journalists after he retired in 2017. He said he once saw discarded metal shavings near wiring for the flight controls that could have cut the wiring and caused a catastrophe. He also noted problems with up to a quarter of the oxygen systems on Boeing’s 787 planes.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner taxis after its landing at Le Bourget airport, east of Paris, upon its presentation for the first time at the 49th Paris Air Show at the airport, June 21, 2011.Francois Mori / AP fileBarnett shared his concerns with his supervisors and others before leaving Boeing, but according to the lawsuit they responded by ignoring him and then harassing him.

Barnett, 62, shot himself on March 9, 2024, in Charleston after answering questions from attorneys for several days. He lived in Louisiana.