A former Boeing quality manager who testified against his longtime employer was found dead in a hotel parking garage over the weekend.
According to the Charleston County Coroner's Office, John Barnett, 62, killed himself with a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Saturday. Barnett worked for Boeing for three decades before retiring in 2017.
Widely known in the aviation industry for his allegations of inadequate safety measures at Boeing, Barnett had been cross-examined by Boeing's lawyers in a deposition mere days before his death. His death coincides with the Justice Department's decision to open a criminal inquiry into the airline giant after a panel on one of its planes blew out at 16,000 feet on an Alaska Airlines flight in January.
Following that incident, Barnett spoke to the entertainment news site TMZ.
Fox Business reports:
In 2019, Barnett told the BBC that Boeing would rush to get its 787 Dreamliner jets off the production line, compromising safety.
He alleged the emergency oxygen systems that were made for 787 Dreamliners had a failure rate of 25%. This meant that a quarter of 787 Dreamliners had the potential to rapidly lose oxygen if the cabins were suddenly decompressed, suffocating passengers.
Barnett said that he had encountered these issues when he began working at Boeing's North Charleston plant in 2010. He reportedly raised his concerns to his managers, but did not see them take any action.
The Federal Aviation Administration reviewed Boeing in 2017 and ordered the company to take action, which corroborated some of Barnett's allegations.
“We are saddened by Mr. Barnett's passing, and our thoughts are with his family and friends,” a statement from Boeing read.
READ NEXT: City Officials Respond Over Controversial Pro-Trump Display
