The body of a former Boeing employee who raised concerns about the company’s manufacturing standards and sued the company has been found in the United States. reports BBC.
It is noted that John Barnett worked at Boeing for 32 years and retired in 2017. Law enforcement authorities believe the man’s cause of death was suicide; his body was found in a car in a hotel parking lot on March 9.
The Boeing Corporation expressed condolences over Barnett’s death.
“We are saddened by the passing of Mr. Barnett and our thoughts are with his family and friends.”noted the company.
Since 2010, the man served as a quality manager at the corporation’s plant in North Charleston, which produced the Boeing 787 Dreamliner long-haul aircraft.
Previously, he publicly stated that the company’s employees, under pressure from management, were forced to install low-quality parts on manufactured aircraft in order to prevent delays on the production line. In addition, Barnett blamed the corporation for the fact that the Boeing 787 Dreamliner had oxygen systems that showed a failure rate of 25% of cases, meaning that in an emergency one in four breathing masks would not work.
The man emphasized that he expressed his concerns to his superiors, but no action was taken.
After retiring, he began a long legal battle with the corporation and was in Charleston for court hearings at the time of his death. Barnett accused the corporation of spreading false information about him and hindering his career.
Earlier, Emirates airline president Tim Clark said that Boeing’s progressive decline in standards was cause for concern. He noted a significant deterioration in the quality of aircraft and recalled the incident on January 5, 2024, when a fuselage section of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 came off during a flight, which led to depressurization of the cabin.
