Boeing whistleblower who warned of aircraft safety flaws found dead
A former quality inspector at Boeing who filed a whistleblower complaint over aircraft safety flaws has been found dead.
A former Boeing quality inspector who filed a whistleblower complaint over alleged plane safety flaws was found dead “from what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” officials in Charleston, South Carolina, said Monday.
John Barnett, 62, spent more than three decades at the aircraft manufacturing giant and sounded the alarm with aviation authorities in 2017 over what he said were potentially “catastrophic” safety failings.
His family said in a statement Monday that he had tried to highlight serious concerns but was met with “a culture of concealment” that valued “profits over safety.”
Charleston County Coroner Bobbi Jo O’Neal said in a statement Monday that Barnett died “from what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” in the South Carolina city on Saturday.
The statement from Barnett's family said he had suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety attacks and that the “hostile work environment at Boeing” led to his death.
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