Boeing whistleblower found dead in South Carolina was from ...
(KALB/Gray News) - John Barnett, a former Boeing employee who raised concerns about the company’s production standards, was found dead, according to reports. Barnett was from Pineville, Louisiana.
The 62-year-old was found dead from a “self-inflicted gunshot wound” on March 9 in Charleston, South Carolina, according to the Charleston County coroner.
The coroner confirmed the death to the BBC on Monday.
In a statement, Boeing said, “We are saddened by Mr. Barnett’s passing, and our thoughts are with his family and friends.”
Barnett had worked for Boeing for 32 years before retiring in 2017.
According to the BBC, on several occasions, Barnett had reported about the company using sub-standard parts, and oxygen systems with serious problems. Barnett reportedly alerted managers who took no action to fix the issues and Boeing denied Barnett’s claims.
WIS-TV reported that Barnett’s attorneys, Robert Turkewitz of the Law Office of Robert M. Turkewitz, LLC and Brian Knowles of Knowles Law Firm, PC, released the following statement Tuesday afternoon:
“John was a brave, honest man of the highest integrity. He cared dearly about his family, his friends, the Boeing company, his Boeing co-workers, and the pilots and people who flew on Boeing aircraft. We have rarely met someone with a more sincere and forthright character. In the course of his job as a quality manager at Boeing South Carolina, John learned of and exposed very serious safety problems with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and was retaliated against and subjected to a hostile work environment, which is the subject of his pending AIR-21 case. John was in the midst of a deposition in his whistleblower retaliation case, which finally was nearing the end. He was in very good spirits and really looking forward to putting this phase of his life behind him and moving on. We didn’t see any indication he would take his own life. No one can believe it. We are all devasted. We need more information about what happened to John. The Charleston police need to investigate this fully and accurately and tell the public what they find out. No detail can be left unturned.”
Police are reportedly investigating Barnett’s death.
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