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The Tragic Death of a Boeing Whistleblower
In a somber turn of events, John Barnett, a former Boeing employee with 32 years of service, was discovered dead on March 9, having taken his own life inside his car outside a Charleston, South Carolina hotel. Barnett, who had retired in 2017, had been instrumental in bringing to light concerns regarding defective parts and critical issues with the oxygen masks on Boeing aircraft.
Revelations of Sub-Standard Practices
According to reports by BBC, Barnett raised alarming issues surrounding the production standards at Boeing. He revealed that sub-standard parts, some of which had been salvaged from scrap bins, were being used in the construction of planes to avoid production delays. Additionally, Barnett disclosed that tests conducted on emergency oxygen systems intended for the 787 model showed a concerning failure rate of 25%, implying that a quarter of these systems might not function in a real-life emergency scenario.
A former Boeing employee known for raising concerns about the firm’s production standards has been found dead in the US.
John Barnett had worked for Boeing for 32 years, until his retirement in 2017.
In the days before his death, he had been giving evidence in a whistleblower lawsuit against the company.
Boeing said it was saddened to hear of Mr. Barnett’s passing. The Charleston County coroner confirmed his death to the BBC on Monday.
It said the 62-year-old had died from a “self-inflicted” wound on 9 March and police were investigating.
Mr. Barnett had worked for the US plane giant for 32 years, until his retirement in 2017 on health grounds.
The Shadow of Tragedy Casts Across Boeing
Barnett’s untimely death comes at a time when Boeing is facing a series of setbacks related to its aircraft construction. Recently, a United Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 encountered gear failure, resulting in a runway incident at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport. This incident followed another concerning event where a United Airlines Boeing 777 plane had to execute an emergency landing after losing a tire during takeoff. The repercussions of these incidents are not only limited to the safety of passengers but also extend to the damage caused on the ground, as seen when a detached tire from a Boeing aircraft caused significant harm to parked vehicles in a San Francisco airport parking lot.
Furthermore, in an alarming occurrence earlier this year, a part of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX broke off mid-air. These incidents paint a troubling picture of the current state of affairs at Boeing, especially when juxtaposed with the company’s recent focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives over the prioritization of passenger safety.
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