A former Boeing employee who blew the whistle on alarming manufacturing defects and corner-cutting at the aerospace giant has died in a suspected suicide, authorities confirmed on Monday. John Barnett, 62, was discovered with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his vehicle in a hotel parking lot in Charleston, South Carolina last Friday.
Mr. Barnett had worked for over three decades at Boeing as a quality control manager before retiring in 2017 due to health reasons. In his final years at the company, he had raised urgent concerns about widespread violations of production standards and safety protocols at Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner plant in North Charleston.
According to Mr. Barnett, frenzied production pressures led technicians and managers to deliberately install defective components into aircrafts, remove substandard parts from scrapyards, and even overlook emergency systems like oxygen masks that failed a quarter of the time during testing. He had alerted his superiors about the severe lapses, but they dismissed his warnings.
“As soon as I started at the North Charleston facility, I saw this incredibly troubling pattern of putting schedule and cost ahead of safety and quality controls,” Mr. Barnett said in a 2019 interview with the BBC. “Defective components were routinely fitted onto planes and shoddy workmanship was widespread because managers just wanted to meet aggressive production targets at any cost.”
Despite Boeing’s denials, a 2017 Federal Aviation Administration audit validated some of Mr. Barnett’s accusations. Regulators found that the locations of over 50 non-conforming parts were unknown within Boeing’s factory, declaring them effectively lost. The company was ordered to take corrective action.
On the oxygen system issue, Boeing admitted it had discovered “some oxygen bottles” from a supplier were not deploying properly in 2017, but claimed they were never actually installed on planes – directly contradicting Mr. Barnett’s account.
After he retired, Mr. Barnett filed a whistleblower lawsuit alleging that Boeing had retaliated against him for speaking up about manufacturing problems, denigrating his character and hampering his career advancement. The company vehemently rejected the claims.
Up until his death last week, the veteran quality inspector had been in Charleston to sit for interviews and depositions related to the high-stakes litigation against his former employer. Over several days, he was grilled by Boeing’s attorneys and his own lawyers about the allegations.
Mr. Barnett was scheduled to undergo additional cross-examination by Boeing’s legal team on Saturday. When he failed to appear as planned, a welfare check was conducted at his hotel leading to the grim discovery in the parking lot.
“John’s tragic passing represents an incalculable loss, both for those of us who had the honor of knowing him and for a nation that has relied on his courage,” said his attorney, who did not want to be named. “He sacrified everything, including his health and career, to stand up against the sorts of corrupt practices that have no place in the aerospace industry.”
The news has sent shockwaves across the aviation world, where production practices at Boeing and its suppliers have come under heightened scrutiny following several alarming incidents over quality control lapses.
Just two months ago, the emergency exit door blew off a new Boeing 737 Max shortly after takeoff, prompting the company to ground over 500 newly-built aircraft for rework. Preliminary findings suggested that four critical locking bolts had simply never been installed during manufacturing.
Following a comprehensive six-week audit, the FAA revealed that Boeing had “failed to comply with multiple manufacturing quality requirements,” underscoring the systemic challenges the company faces in reforming its production culture.
John Barnett has been hailed as a beacon of ethics and safety in a corporate landscape too often plagued by corners being cut in pursuit of profits. His persistence in calling out Boeing’s troubling practices took tremendous personal courage, especially considering the toll it took on his own livelihood.
While aviation experts say much more needs to be done to overhaul quality control and accountability at both Boeing and industry suppliers, Mr. Barnett’s tragic death has galvanized calls for renewed vigilance and a wholehearted recommitment to putting safety over schedule.
“John’s sacrifice must not be in vain,” said Kit Darby, the Aviation Safety Advocate who had worked closely with the whistleblower. We owe it to him and every person who steps aboard a commercial flight to ensure no plane leaves the factory with a single unresolved defect that could jeopardize human life.
Boeing, in a statement, said it was “saddened by Mr. Barnett’s passing” and that its “thoughts are with his family and friends during this difficult time.” The aerospace titan did not directly address the renewed scrutiny over its production practices.
For Mr. Barnett’s loved ones and legal team, his death has only fortified their determination to continue his fight to institute sweeping reforms that restore full integrity to airline manufacturing.
As the Federal Aviation Administration and Congressional investigators dig deeper into Boeing’s operations, they now have an even more solemn responsibility to honor John Barnett’s sacrifice by upholding his unbending commitment to aviation safety as the highest priority.
His tragic loss looms as a stark reminder that cutting corners in pursuit of production expediency can have catastrophic human consequences that transcend any corporate bottom line. Mr. Barnett’s legacy now rests on ensuring thatmessage finally resonates at the highest levels so that no whistleblower ever again pays the ultimate price for doing the right thing.
