Boeing whistleblower John Barnett found dead in US

Boeing whistleblower John Barnett, 62, was found dead in his truck in a South Carolina hotel parking lot over the weekend.

Mr Barnett has blown the whistle on alleged safety problems at the giant planemaker and testified in a lawsuit against the company in recent days.

The Charleston Police Department is investigating Mr. Barnett’s death, Charleston office csaid Coroner Bobbi Jo O’Neal.

Barnett’s former employer, Boeing, responded to his death, saying: “We are saddened by Mr. Barnett’s passing and our thoughts go out to his family and friends.”

Mr. Barnett worked with Boeing for more than three decades until his retirement in 2017.

He raised concerns about the safety of the airline’s manufacturing facilities and gave his initial testimony just days before he was found dead of what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, he said Charleston County Coroner for BBC News.

In 2019, Mr. Barnett claimed that Boeing intentionally used defective parts in its planes and warned that passengers on the 787 Dreamliner could face a lack of oxygen if a sudden decompression occurs.

At the time, Boeing denied the claims, saying the company followed the strictest safety protocols.

US prosecutors on Saturday launched a criminal investigation into an incident in which a Boeing 737 MAX operated by Alaska Airlines suffered a mid-air fuselage rupture.

According to his reports TheWall Street Journal and The Washington PostThe Department of Justice (DOJ) conducted interviews with witnesses, including the flight crew, as part of its investigation into the January 5 event, in which part of the aircraft’s fuselage broke off during flight.

Mr Barnett had been staying at a hotel while in town to give a deposition in the case.

His lawyer, Brian Knowles, told TMZ that he has doubts about the circumstances of his death.

“Today is a tragic day,” Mr. Knowles wrote in an email to Corporate crime reporter. “John had been going back and forth for some time preparing. The defense cross-examined him on Thursday for the seven hours allowed under the rules.”

“Once you understand what’s going on inside Boeing, you’ll see why we’re seeing these kinds of problems,” Mr Barnett told ABC News in Australia in late January.

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