Friends suspect Boeing whistleblower's death a murder, not suicide

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
15 Mar 2024 23:59
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John Barnett was found dead in a pickup truck in South Carolina on the exact same day he was due to conclude a closed-door testimony in a lawsuit against Boeing.

Aircraft models of Boeing are on display during the Singapore Airshow in Singapore, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

The New York Post on Friday reported that Boeing whistleblower John Barnett who is alleged to have died by suicide on March 9 has told friends that he could possibly end up killed after raising safety concerns about the company.

"If anything happens, it’s not suicide," he was quoted as saying by one of his close friends.

Barnett was found dead in a pickup truck in South Carolina on the exact same day he was due to conclude a closed-door testimony in a lawsuit against Boeing. The Charleston County coroner's office in South Carolina initially ruled that the 62-year-old died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. However, Barnett's friends, family, and lawyers believe otherwise.

"I know that he did not commit suicide. There’s no way," a family friend, only identified as Jennifer, told ABC 4.

The friend asserted that Barnett had expressed to her his fear of potentially meeting a fatal outcome after he began publicly addressing his safety concerns related to Boeing following his retirement in 2017. "He wasn’t concerned about [his own] safety because I asked him," Jennifer told the outlet. "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 mentioned that they discussed Barnett's upcoming deposition in the Boeing legal case during the same conversation. She suspects that someone disagreed with his views and possibly sought to silence him.

"That’s why they made it look like a suicide," Jennifer said.

Barnett’s lawyers, Robert Turkewitz and Brian Knowles, have also expressed skepticism over the matter.

"John was in the midst of a deposition in his whistleblower retaliation case, which finally was nearing the end," they said.

"He was in very good spirits and really looking forward to putting this phase of his life behind him and moving on. We didn’t see any indication he would take his own life. No one can believe it," the attorneys added.

Barnett, who worked as a quality manager at Boeing for over three decades, had "exposed very serious safety problems with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and was retaliated against and subjected to a hostile work environment," they added.

Barnett had spoken to media outlets about the incident on January 5 involving a Boeing 737 MAX 9 plane. During the flight, a panel blew out mid-air, leading to passengers being exposed to the outside air, necessitating an emergency landing.

Boeing has had to confront a severe crisis regarding its safety and quality standards. Its production has been constrained by US regulators, resulting in delivery delays throughout the aerospace industry.

In reaction to his passing, Boeing issued the following statement: "We are saddened by Mr. Barnett’s passing, and our thoughts are with his family and friends."