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Boeing Investigation Has Taken A Hollywood-esque Turn


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.
 
Boeing's profit went up 118% from 2022 to 2023.

Sounds like they saved a lot by simply not using all the parts on their airplanes. Hey. At least the shareholders are happy, and that's really all that matters in aviation.

The timing on this story is pretty crazy. Dude has been battling with them for years and decides to just kill himself in between deposition and testimony? I don't know, man. It smells.
 
Boeing's profit went up 118% from 2022 to 2023.

Sounds like they saved a lot by simply not using all the parts on their airplanes. Hey. At least the shareholders are happy, and that's really all that matters in aviation.

The timing on this story is pretty crazy. Dude has been battling with them for years and decides to just kill himself in between deposition and testimony? I don't know, man. It smells.

Like the Enron whistleblower who faced no legal jeopardy or public backlash. Before he could testify, he just decided to pull over to the side of some desolate road and blow his brains out.
 
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When Jennifer needed help one day, Barnett came by to see her. They talked about his upcoming deposition in Charleston. Jennifer knew Barnett filed an extremely damaging complaint against Boeing. He said the aerospace giant retaliated against him when he blew the whistle on unsafe practices.

For more than 30 years, he was a quality manager. He'd recently retired and moved back to Louisiana to look after his mom.

"He wasn't concerned about safety because I asked him," Jennifer said. "I said, 'Aren't you scared?' And he said, 'No, I ain't scared, but if anything happens to me, it's not suicide.'"

Jennifer added: "I know that he did not commit suicide. There's no way. He loved life too much. He loved his family too much. He loved his brothers too much to put them through what they're going through right now."

Jennifer said she thinks somebody "didn't like what he had to say" and wanted to "shut him up" without it coming back to anyone.
 
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If the current Boeing management had been running the country in the late 30's, we'd all be speaking Kraut right now.

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun will step down at the end of 2024 in part of a broad management shakeup for the embattled aerospace giant. Chairman of the board Larry Kellner is also stepping down, and Stan Deal, CEO of the commercial airplane unit, is out effective immediately. Boeing executives have faced increasing scrutiny from regulators and customers over quality control problems.
 
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