Ex-Boeing employee and whistleblower dies of apparent suicide

CHARLESTON CITY, South Carolina: John Barnett, a former Boeing employee who had raised concerns about the company's production issues, was found dead of an apparent suicide, according to authorities in South Carolina.

Barnett, who had worked at Boeing for 32 years before leaving the company in 2017, reportedly voiced concerns about production problems, as per the BBC. The 62-year-old died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, confirmed the Charleston County coroner's office this week. The Charleston City police are investigating, but no further details were provided.

At the time of his death, Barnett was in the midst of a deposition in a whistleblower retaliation case against Boeing, according to his attorneys, Robert Turkewitz and Brian Knowles. They stated, "He was in very good spirits and really looking forward to putting this phase of his life behind him and moving on. We didn't see any indication he would take his own life. No one can believe it."

Barnett, a quality manager at Boeing, had "exposed very serious safety problems with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and was retaliated against and subjected to a hostile work environment," his attorneys asserted.

In response to Barnett's passing, Boeing expressed sadness and extended condolences to his family and friends.

Barnett had previously spoken to media outlets following an incident on a Boeing 737 MAX 9 plane on January 5, when a panel blew out mid-air, necessitating an emergency landing. This incident added to Boeing's ongoing safety and quality crisis, resulting in production constraints imposed by U.S. regulators and delivery delays across the aerospace industry.