Authorities in South Carolina discovered the body of John Barnett, a former employee of Boeing (BA.N), opens a new tab, who had allegedly voiced concerns about the company's production issues. Barnett appeared to have committed suicide.
The BBC previously covered Barnett's attempts to bring attention to the company's production problems. Barnett had been employed by Boeing for 32 years when he left the company in 2017.
The South Carolina coroner's office in Charleston County confirmed on Tuesday that the 62-year-old had self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Without providing further information, the coroner's office stated that the Charleston City police were conducting an investigation.
Attorneys Robert Turkewitz and Brian Knowles said that Barnett was in the middle of a deposition in an ongoing whistleblower retaliation case against Boeing.
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"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," they said.
Barnett was a quality manager at Boeing. His attorneys said he had "exposed severe safety problems with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and was retaliated against and subjected to a hostile" work environment."
Boeing said: "Barnett's passing saddens us, and our thoughts are with his family and friends." Barnett had spoken to media outlets following the Jan. 5 incident on a Boeing 737 MAX 9 plane, when a panel blew out while the flight was in mid-air, exposing passengers to the outside air and requiring an emergency landing.
Boeing has since had to reckon with a full-blown crisis around its safety and quality standards. U.S. regulators have curbed its production, leading to delivery delays across the aerospace industry.
