Boeing Whistleblowers' Deaths

Overview

Boeing Whistleblowers' Deaths refers to coverage and discourse surrounding the deaths of former Boeing Quality Control Manager John Barnett in March 2024 and Joshua Dean, a former quality auditor at Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems, in April 2024. Both had publicly spoken about Boeing ignoring or downplaying safety concerns which ultimately led to public controversies such as the loose bolts controversy in early 2024. Both of their deaths were premature: Barnett died to an alleged "self-inflicted" gunshot wound, while Dean died of complications from Influenza B and pneumonia. This led to numerous conspiracy theories emerged shortly after, spreading speculation on social media that the two were assassinated or killed for speaking out.

Background

John Barnett was a former Boeing employee who worked with the aviation company for 32 years before retiring in 2017. From 2010 onward, Barnett worked as a quality manager at a North Charleston plant in South Carolina, which made Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes.^[10]

In 2019, Barnett became a whistleblower claiming to expose shoddy construction practices in Boeing plants. According to the BBC,^[1] Barnett alleged that Boeing was not keeping track of defective components in its factories, that "under pressure, workers had been deliberately fitting sub-standard parts to aircraft on the production line" and that "sub-standard parts had even been removed from scrap bins and fitted to planes that were being built to prevent delays on the production line." Barnett also said that he had uncovered discrepancies in oxygen systems, making one in four breathing masks inoperable in the case of an emergency.

In a January 31st, 2024, interview with TMZ,^[6] John Barnett said, "This is not a 737 problem, this is a Boeing problem," asserting that Boeing assembly standards had dropped across the board.

On March 9th, 2024, Barnett was found dead in his truck parked in the parking lot of a hotel in Charleston, South Carolina, where he was slated to appear in legal interviews linked to the case. According to the Charleston County coroner, the 62-year-old died from a "self-inflicted" wound.^[2]

Joshua Dean Death

On April 30th, 2024, Joshua Dean, another Boeing whistleblower, died prematurely at the age of 45. On April 21st, Dean tested positive for Influenza B and MRSA, and later contracted pneumonia.

Dean was a former quality auditor at Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems, and had flagged safety concerns about improperly drilled bulkhead holes in 737 planes in October of 2022. He alleged the company swept under the rug until they became public knowledge in August of 2023. He was fired in April of 2023 for a separate issue and had filed a wrongful termination complaint, arguing the company really fired him for raising safety issues, and the complaint was unresolved at the time of his death.

Dean's death intensified suspicion on social media that Boeing was ordering "hits" on whistleblowers.

Online Reactions

The news of John Barnett's death was discussed in various Reddit threads on March 11th, 2024, including /r/technology^[3] where it gathered over 50,000 upvotes, /r/aviation^[4] where it gathered over 14,000 upvotes, and /r/news^[5] where it gathered over 40,000 upvotes in a day.

On March 11th, 2024, X^[7] user @IbaraEleven posted a Yeonmi Park On Joe Rogan Parody meme writing, "In the United States corporations can have you killed with impunity if you reveal their transgressions," and gathering over 72,000 likes in a day. On the same day, X^[8] user @marionumber4 posted a We're All Trying To Find The Guy meme and gathered over 13,000 likes in a day (seen below, right).

Some conservative commentators attempted to link John Barnett's death to ongoing discussions in their circles about DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) practices making airlines less safe. Conspiratorial talk show host Alex Jones^[9] made one such assertion on March 12th, gathering over 7,000 likes in a day (seen below).

Search Interest

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External References