On March 13th, according to foreign media reports, on the 11th local time, the Charleston County Coroner's Office in South Carolina, USA, stated that former employee John Barnett, who had exposed Boeing safety issues, was found dead in a car outside a hotel in South Carolina, with the suspected cause of death being "shooting suicide.".
According to CNN, on the same day, a press release released by the Charleston County Coroner's Office stated that 62 year old Barnett died on March 9th local time, with the cause of death "apparently being suicide by firing a gun.". The city police department stated that the authorities are investigating the case and "waiting for the official cause of death, as well as any other investigation results that may further reveal Barnett's death."
According to the Congressional Hill, Barnett was a senior employee who worked for Boeing for 32 years until his retirement in 2017. Since 2010, Barnett has been serving as a quality manager at Boeing's factory in North Charleston, South Carolina, one of the two factories involved in building the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
According to reports, in 2019, Barnett exposed to the media that the oxygen system of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner had serious defects, which could prevent about a quarter of the oxygen masks from working properly when needed. Barnett also stated that at the North Charleston factory, overworked employees often install non-standard components during aircraft assembly, resulting in compromised aircraft safety.
According to reports, Boeing denied Barnett's allegations at the time, but subsequent investigations by the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed some of his allegations. A report found that over 50 "non-conforming" parts were missing from Boeing's North Charleston factory and may have been lost. Boeing was immediately ordered to take remedial action.
Barnett subsequently launched a long-term legal lawsuit against Boeing. Prior to Barnett's death, he had been providing evidence for the lawsuit against Boeing.
According to reports, at the time of Barnett's death, Boeing was repeatedly embroiled in aviation safety scandals. In January 2024, the fuselage of a Boeing 737Max series aircraft operated by Alaska Airlines partially exploded, causing several injuries on board and grounding 171 Boeing 737Max9 aircraft across the United States. In March, United Airlines Boeing experienced three more accidents within five days, including engine fires, tire slippage, and runway slippage. On March 11th, a Boeing 787-9 aircraft operated by Latham Airways experienced technical issues and made a sudden descent during flight, causing passengers to collide with the cabin roof and injuring at least 50 people.