In South Carolina, a Boeing whistleblower was found dead. He had been giving testimony in a suit against the company.
John Barnett, who retired in 2017 from Boeing after 17 years’ service, later claimed that the company had serious safety problems.
According to the BBC he had given evidence in a lawsuit filed by a whistleblower against Boeing and had last week taken a formal deposition where he was interrogated by lawyers from the company.
Barnett, aged 62, died in his truck after an alarm was raised by his failure to appear at a further interview on Saturday.
Charleston County Coroner stated that Barnett died on March 9, 2009, from an “self-inflicted wound”. Police were conducting an investigation. Boeing stated: “We’re saddened by the passing of Mr Barnett and our thoughts are for his family and friends.”
Barnett’s death occurs at a moment when Boeing is being heavily scrutinized for repeated safety failures. The company faces multiple government investigations.
The Wall Street Journal reported on the weekend that a criminal probe had been launched by the Department of Justice into an incident which occurred in Oregon, shortly after the takeoff of an Alaska Airlines aircraft, in January.
A county coroner confirmed that John Barnett died of a self-inflicted injury.
Experts say that while the Boeing plane landed safely, if it had happened at cruise altitude the outcome could have been catastrophic. Boeing claimed that it was unable to locate the records requested by the National Transportation Safety Board relating the work performed on the panel in one of its factories.
Boeing is also being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Pete Buttigieg warned the company on Monday to “make a serious transformation” in terms of its manufacturing and safety. He stated that he expects the company to fully cooperate with investigators.
Boeing responded by saying: “We are committed to cooperating fully and transparently in all government investigations and audits as we implement comprehensive measures to improve safety and the quality of Boeing products.”
Barnett worked as a quality supervisor at the Boeing plant in North Charleston, where the 787 Dreamliner was produced. However, he said he became concerned about the safety of the aircraft due to a rush to manufacture it. The company denied this.