A Boeing whistle blower found dead the day he was due to give testimony

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WhatInThe

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A Boeing whistle blower John Barnett who started raising alarm bells as early as 2010 was found dead of a self inflicted gunshot wound when he did not show for the day's testimony. Some issues were corroberated by 2017. He said many issues at a South Carolina plant although it's probably company wide to some degree.

He said the 787 Dreamliners were rushed and had a 25% failure rate. Problems included the a sudden loss of oxygen. Ironic this weekend a 787 in Australia experienced technical issues.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-...-sydney-auckland-flight-nz-herald-2024-03-11/

I wouldn't be surprised if he was pressured not to testify not just by management but an local employee who didn't want to see their job or money go if that plant was shut down.

RIP
 

I was just going to post this too. Old Boeing planes have a good reputation. Souhthwest Airlines only flies the older 737s, to the best of my knowledge. But these new models? Seems like Boeing values money over our lives.

More on his passing: Boeing Whistleblower John Barnett Found Dead Amid Depositions Against Plane Company

From that article: "...in 2019 that he was once reprimanded for documenting “process violations” via email instead of face to face, which he took to mean the company didn’t want him putting problems in writing. In a 2014 performance review seen by the Times, Barnett’s manager told him that he had to improve at “working in the gray areas and help find a way while maintaining compliance.”

Gray areas in aircraft construction and quality control will kill passengers. Oh well. Not Boeing's problem, right?

BTW, when facts are facts and truth is truth, one can always feel safe putting them in writing. The readers may not like the facts, but that doesn't mean he was insubordinate or wrong to communicate them in writing.
 
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WhatInThe said:
A Boeing whistle blower John Barnett who started raising alarm bells as early as 2010 was found dead of a self inflicted gunshot wound when he did not show for the day's testimony.
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Can we say "alleged" suicide? Something doesn't feel right. I *hate* when people come up with conspiracy theories for *everything* in the news... and maybe that's what this is, BUT the guy was in his truck in a hotel parking lot. Why not do it inside if he was going to do it? From the moment I heard this happened, something felt off. Maybe just me? 🤷‍♀️
 

CallMeKate said:
Can we say "alleged" suicide? Something doesn't feel right. I *hate* when people come up with conspiracy theories for *everything* in the news... and maybe that's what this is, BUT the guy was in his truck in a hotel parking lot. Why not do it inside if he was going to do it? From the moment I heard this happened, something felt off. Maybe just me? 🤷‍♀️
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You're right. Alleged should be the term for now.
 
So often it happens that truth is repressed this way. Should raise sirens and alarms so that investigations are pressed harder and deeper than had he lived. But, probably the story of his death alone will be all that will be said. And, that soon forgotten and swept away.
 
CallMeKate said:
BUT the guy was in his truck in a hotel parking lot. Why not do it inside if he was going to do it?
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He might have been trying to be respectful to the staff and owners of the hotel. Hotels are common places for suicides to happen. Front end staff used to be cautioned about a local single person checking in for a day. He may have chosen not to do it in his home or own driveway because of the scandal and devaluing of his home.

I know nothing about this case. The poor man may just have been burned out after years of fighting a system.
 
Nathan said:
I'm quite sure Boeing was so saddened that Mr. Barnett couldn't complete his whistleblower testimony.
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Yeah... heartbroken. I just don't buy the suicide thing... I see now that Newsweek has an article that states I'm not alone in that thinking. If you don't want to upset staff, you don't go out to the parking lot where it's staff who just may find you. In fact, you don't stay around your hotel at all... you find a woods or some secluded area. I hope someone picks up where he left off... but that may very well be a death wish. 🥺
 
Oh now THIS is interesting! It's *not* just social media speculation. I mentioned Newsweek reporting the speculation, but look at this...

"Meanwhile, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy noted Bartnett's death, adding that he hopes there will be a "genuine investigation" into his death.

"John Barnett worked for Boeing for 32 years. The company worked to destroy his life after he exposed safety concerns. I'm proud that my sister Rory worked to tell his story in her award winning documentary Downfall: The Case Against Boeing. Boeing killed 346 people out of greed. Let's hope there is a genuine investigation of John Barnett's 'suicide'," Kennedy wrote on X."
 
Barnett already testified for several days, plus there are hours of pretrial depositions, so his concerns were extremely well documented. I don't see any reason for Boeing to " put a hit" on him. It's a lot better to snow Barnett with appeals, and counter suits, so he'd still be in court when he's 103. From what little I know about litigation and trails, is that it's not "just the facts, ma'am". They take an emotional toll.
 
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The family would be more qualified to comment whether or not he was suicidal. I’ll wait for more information.
 
I'm sorry to be so negative, but anyone can put a hit on anyone else if they have access to the Dark Web and know how to use cryptocurrency. It would not have had to have been the company itself. It can all be out-sourced.

I remember this story frorm China: Hitman outsourced a murder to hitman, who hired hitman, who hired hitman, who hired hitman

When people have money and they are stone-cold evil, thanks to the Dark Web & crypto, they can out-source anything.
 
I never believed that he committed suicide, I just found
this video on YouTube, I don't know if it is true, but it
might be.

Mike.

 

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