John Barnett, the 62-year-old whistleblower who recently raised doubts about the production standards of Boeing, was found dead on Saturday, March 9. He apparently died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and had been cross-examined by Boeing’s lawyers and his own attorney on the day before his death and had been scheduled to answer more questions on the Saturday of his death.
As background, Fox News Digital reports Mr. Barnett was employed by Boeing for three decades, working as a quality control engineer. He retired in 2017. Then, in 2019, Mr. Barnett told the BBC that Boeing would compromise the safety of passengers by trying to rush the 787 Dreamliner jets through the production line, alleging that the emergency oxygen systems failed a quarter of the time. Boeing denies his claims.
That was a major problem because it meant, Fox News Digital reports, that if the cabins suddenly decompressed, passengers would suffocate in the quarter of 787 Dreamliners with faulty emergency oxygen systems.
Further, speaking to the New York Times in 2019, Barnett, who accused Boeing of also denigrating his character, said that the planes produced in the Charleston plant were generally problematic and probably dangerous. He said, “I haven’t seen a plane out of Charleston yet that I’d put my name on saying it’s safe and airworthy.”
In that New York Times interview, Mr. Barnett alleged that the planes were contaminated by clusters of metal shavings that were produced when fasteners are fitted into nuts. Those metal shavings are a major issue because, handing above the wiring of the planes, they could potentially fall onto the wires and cause fires and short-circuiting. He said that it would be “catastrophic” if the shavings penetrated the wiring.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), when it inspected several planes certified by Boeing as being free of the dangerous shavings, found the planes actually contained them, a spokesperson said. In 2017, the FAA had to order Boeing to clean the Dreamliners of those shavings.
That’s not all. In the same interview, Barnett related a 2016 incident in which he allegedly found a senior manager pulled a dented hydraulic tube from a scrap bin and allowed it to be used on a Boeing 737. The hydraulics system in which the dented tube was allegedly used was the plane’s central movement control system.
Barnett claimed that, when confronted, the senior manager told him not to worry about it. Further, he claimed that he suspected other faulty parts were being installed on planes because he noticed that faulty parts were going missing. He suspected that the faulty parts were being installed so that Boeing could meet plane construction deadlines.
Boeing, for its part, has denied Mr. Barnett’s accusations. In a statement released after he was found dead of the self-inflicted gunshot wound, it said, “We are saddened by Mr. Barnett’s passing, and our thoughts are with his family and friends,”
Shortly before his death, Mr. Barnett recorded an interview with TMZ in which he reiterated some of his claims about Boeing and potential dangers of Boeing planes. Watch that here: