Just a few days after testifying in a lawsuit against Boeing, Western media reported the "suicide" of John Barnett, a former Boeing employee known for criticizing the company’s production standards in the United States. Reports indicated that Barnett, 62 years old, "died from self-inflicted injuries on March 9," and his body was found inside his car in a hotel parking lot in South Carolina.
Barnett, who spent 32 years working for Boeing before retiring in 2017, was testifying in a case against the company prior to his death. Charleston County coroner officials confirmed his death on Monday. During his tenure at Boeing, Barnett managed quality at the manufacturing plant for the 787 Dreamliner in North Charleston, primarily used for long-haul flights.
In 2019, Barnett raised concerns about workers being pressured to bypass necessary standards and install parts without the required quality in aircraft. He also discovered issues with oxygen systems that could lead to a quarter of the emergency oxygen masks in planes failing to function. He noted that after moving to South Carolina, he became worried about the expedited assembly process for building new planes, which could compromise safety, a claim Boeing denied.
The mystery surrounding John Barnett's suicide comes at a time when Boeing faces near-daily disasters, with the latest incident occurring on Monday when a Boeing 787-9 made an emergency landing in New Zealand, resulting in at least fifty injuries. The causes of the incident are still unknown.
