Boeing Whistleblower's Family Blames "Hostile Work Environment" For Death

Former Boeing employee John Barnett, who questioned the aircraft manufacturer's production standards, was found dead in Charleston, South Carolina, US. The 62-year-old died from a "self-inflicted" gunshot wound on March 9. Mr Barnett was in Charleston for legal interviews and was scheduled for additional questioning. He was found dead after failing to appear. He departed from Boeing in 2017 due to health reasons after more than 30 years of career.

Mr Barnett's family has now blamed the company's "hostile work environment" for his death, as per a report in the New York Post. They said, "He was suffering from PTSD and anxiety attacks as a result of being subjected to the hostile work environment at Boeing which we believe led to his death."

The 62-year-old's family said that he was happily working for the jetliner giant until 2010 when he was moved to the 787 plant in Charleston. "Things greatly changed for him when he learned that upper management was pressuring the quality inspectors and managers to cut corners and to not follow processes and procedures which they were required by law to follow," the family said.

They alleged that to prevent the assembly line from slowing down, Boeing put pressure on employees to overlook flaws, and those who resisted "were labelled as trouble makers, retaliated against, and subjected to a hostile work environment."

Mr Barnett told his family that it was a battle for him to get the management to do the right thing. The family continued, "He was deeply concerned about the safety of the aircraft and flying public, and had identified some serious defects that he felt were not adequately addressed. He said that Boeing had a culture of concealment and was putting profits over safety," they added.

"The job he once loved became so stressful, Barnett's doctor grew concerned for his health. It caused him so much stress that his doctor told him that if he stayed, he would have a heart attack," the statement said.

Boeing released a statement and said, "We are saddened by Mr. Barnett's passing, and our thoughts are with his family and friends." It refrained from addressing the points raised in his family's statement.

Mr Barnett had been recently giving evidence in a whistleblower lawsuit against the US airplane manufacturer, which has suffered a series of safety issues in recent years, including the fatal Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes of 737 MAX planes in 2018 and 2019 that killed more than 350 people.

In 2019, John told the BBC that "under-pressure workers" had been deliberately fitting "sub-standard parts" to Boeing aircraft on the production line.

Mr Barnett claimed that he had uncovered serious problems with oxygen systems, which could mean one in four breathing masks would not work in an emergency. He also told the BBC that workers had failed to follow procedures intended to track components through the factory, allowing defective components to go missing. He said that he had alerted managers about the concerns, but they did not take any action.