John Barnett, a former Boeing employee who raised concerns about the company’s production standards, was discovered deceased in the United States, as reported by the BBC on Tuesday. The 62-year-old passed away from a “self-inflicted” injury on March 9, according to the Charleston County coroner interviewed by the BBC.
Having dedicated over 30 years of service to Boeing before retiring in 2017 due to health reasons, Barnett had recently been providing testimony in a whistleblower lawsuit against the American aircraft manufacturer. This company has faced a series of safety challenges in recent times, notably the tragic Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes involving 737 MAX planes in 2018 and 2019, resulting in the loss of over 350 lives.
In 2019, John disclosed to the BBC that “under-pressure workers” were intentionally installing “sub-standard parts” on Boeing aircraft during the production process. He revealed significant issues with oxygen systems, indicating that a quarter of breathing masks might fail during emergencies.
Furthermore, Barnett highlighted that employees were neglecting procedures designed to monitor components throughout the factory, leading to the disappearance of defective parts.
The untimely passing of John Barnett occurred shortly after a US audit, initiated following an incident where a mid-cabin door plug detached from an Alaska Airlines flight in January, uncovered numerous instances of non-compliance at Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which conducted a six-week audit of both manufacturers after the January 5 event, reported “multiple instances where the companies allegedly failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements.”
According to an official statement from the US agency, “The FAA identified non-compliance issues in Boeing’s manufacturing process control, parts handling and storage, and product control.”
In response, Boeing executives held discussions with FAA chief Mike Whitaker, who granted the company a 90-day period to rectify the quality control issues.
