John Barnett, a Boeing whistleblower was found dead outside a hotel in South Carolina.  He was subsequently found dead in his truck in the hotel car park. He appeared to be injured by a self-inflicted wound. Barnett was a longtime Boeing employee and worked as a quality control manager before he retired in 2017. 

After retiring, he embarked on a long-running legal action against the company. He accused it of denigrating his character and hampering his career because of the issues he pointed out – charges rejected by Boeing. At the time of his death, Mr Barnett had been in Charleston for legal interviews linked to that case. Barnett’s attorneys stated, “John was in the midst of a deposition in his whistleblower retaliation case, which was finally nearing an end. He was in excellent spirits and looking forward to putting this phase of life behind him and moving on. We didn’t see any indication he would take his own life. No one can believe it.” He also stated, “We are all devastated. We need more information about what happened to John. The Charleston police need to investigate this fully and accurately tell the public what they find out. No detail can be left unturned.”

Barnett had repeatedly spoken out about the safety issues concerning Boeing Airplanes. In 2019, he was one of several whistleblowers to appear in a New York Times story, expressing safety concerns. He would express his concern to the mechanical engineers who would leave metal shavings by the flight control system when rushing to get a plane done on time. They often also use substandard parts to meet these deadlines. Barnett was concerned that this could be catastrophic to the plane and its passengers if the wiring were to be damaged. Barnett’s concerns were ignored, and eventually, he filed a whistleblower complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA then stated that the shavings must be cleared for the planes to be delivered. 

The tragic death of Barnett has raised controversial thoughts about whether Boeing airplanes are safe enough for passengers. The timing of his death summons questions debating if it was a coincidence or if it was planned.