whistleblower
A second Boeing whistleblower has died after a sudden illness.
Joshua Dean, a former quality auditor at Spirit AeroSystems, went public with claims that the company’s leadership ignored manufacturing defects in Boeing’s 737 MAX. Spirit AeroSystems is a Boeing supplier.
Dean, 45, had an active lifestyle and was believed to be in good health prior to his “sudden” death on Tuesday, following the onset of a fast-moving infection. He was stricken with Influenza B and MRSA, and developed pneumonia, according to Fox59.
He spent two weeks in critical condition before he died on Tuesday, according toThe Seattle Times.
Dean is the second whistleblower to die this year after coming forward about safety issues in the aviation manufacturing industry. Boeing whistleblower John Barnett, 62, was found dead in his truck in a hotel parking lot in South Carolina in March.
The whistleblower’s death is the latest in a string of incidents that have been connected to the embattled company of Boeing over the past year.
Dean came forward to raise issues over aircraft safety. He said that “serious and gross misconduct by senior quality management of the 737 production line” had taken place at Spirit, in a complaint to the Federal Aviation Administration.
He was fired from Spirit Aerosystems in April 2023, and he complained later that his termination was in retaliation.
His attorney, Brian Knowles, told The Seattle Times that he did not want to speculate on the nature of his client’s death but stressed the importance of whistleblowers.
“Whistleblowers are needed. They bring to light wrongdoing and corruption in the interests of society. It takes a lot of courage to stand up,” Mr Knowles said. “It’s a difficult set of circumstances. Our thoughts now are with John’s family and Josh’s family.”
The attorney also represented Barnett who had spoken out about alleged safety problems at Boeing and had been giving evidence in a lawsuit against the company prior to his death. Barnett alleged that Boeing intentionally used defective parts in its planes and warned that passengers on its 787 Dreamliner might face a lack of oxygen if a sudden decompression occurred.
Barnett gave his initial testimony just days before he was found dead in March at a hotel in Charleston. His death appeared to be from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the Charleston County coroner told BBC News.
On 5 January, a door plug panel on a new Alaska Airlines’ Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft tore off while it was cruising at 16,000 feet.
The FAA subsequently grounded 171 MAX 9 aircrafts for review. It stopped Boeing from increasing production of the MAX series aircraft, and ordered it to develop a comprehensive plan to address “systemic quality-control issues”.
The Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into the Alaska Airlines incident. The investigation will center on whether Boeing complied with a 2021 settlement following a pair of deadly crashes that were attributed to faults in its 737 MAX Maneuvering Characterists Augmentation System, Forbes reports.