Who was John Barnett, the Boeing whistleblower found dead in US

John Barnett was found dead on March 9 in his truck in a hotel car park from a “self-inflicted” wound, as per a statement released by Boeing

Barnett had worked as a quality manager since 2010 at Boeing's North Charleston branch in South Carolina.

Boeing whistleblower John Barnett, who gained international attention after he raised concerns about the aircraft manufacturing firm’s production standards, was found dead in the United States on Tuesday, the BBC reported.

Barnett was found dead on March 9 in his truck in a hotel’s car parking from a “self-inflicted” wound, as per a statement released by Boeing. “We are saddened by Mr. Barnett’s passing, and our thoughts are with his family and friends,” the statement said.

The 62-year-old was involved in a lengthy lawsuit with the firm, following his allegations that he had uncovered serious problems with the planes’ oxygen systems, a claim that the American company had denied. At the time of his death, Barnett was in Charleston for legal interview linked to the case, the BBC reported.

Who was John Barnett?

A former Boeing employee, John Barnett had worked for the manufacturing firm for 32 years, retiring in 2017 citing health reasons. After his retirement, Barnett took legal action against Boeing, levelling various charges related to safety against the company. He accused the firm of denigrating his character and hampering his career due to the issues that he brought to light.

Barnett had worked as a quality manager since 2010 at the American company’s North Charleston branch in South Carolina, which manufactures the 787 Dreamliner, deployed for long-haul flights.

A couple of years after his retirement, in an interview to the BBC, Barnett revealed that workers at the branch were under pressure to deliberately fit sub-standard parts to aircraft on the production line. He also alleged that safety was being compromised in the assembly process owing to the rush to manufacture new aircraft. The primary issue highlighted by him was the problem with the emergency oxygen systems, wherein he claimed that during test runs, these showed a failure of 25 per cent. This meant that during emergency, one in four of the oxygen systems would not be able to work.

Barnett also told the BBC that workers had not followed the procedure laid down for tracking components through the factory, leading to defective components going missing. He further alleged that in order to prevent delays in the production line, sub-standard parts had been removed from scrap bins and fitted in the aircraft.

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Barnett said he had highlighted these to his manager but to no avail, while Boeing vehemently denied these charges.

However, some of Barnett’s claims were established when a 2017 review of the firm by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) found that at least 53 “non-conforming” parts in the factory could not be located and were missing.

Barnett had given a formal deposition in the case last week, wherein he was questioned by Boeing’s lawyers and cross-examined by his counsel. He did not show up for further questioning on Saturday, following which enquiries were made at his hotel, according to the BBC.