Another Boeing whistleblower dead | ABC News

Joshua Dean (45) worked as a quality controller at the aircraft manufacturer Boeing’s subcontractor Spirit Aero Systems before he was fired in April 2023. According to himself, he was sacked because he had reported problems with aviation security.

Now Dean is said to have died after a short and sudden illness, the Seattle Times reports.

Dagbladet Børsen mentioned the case first in Norway.

Watch video: Takes off – seconds later the landing gear drops

Second death

Before he died, Dean reportedly testified in a lawsuit against Spirit. In addition, he is said to have sent a complaint to the aviation authorities in the Federal Aviation Administration where he accused the company of “serious and egregious behavior” by the senior management responsible for quality during the production of the Boeing 737 aircraft type at Spirit.

Dean was one of the first whistleblowers in the whistleblower case against Boeing. Another whistleblower, John Barnett (62), was found dead in his car in the city of Charleston in South Carolina on 9 March. He was in town to testify in a trial against Boeing, which was then his former employer. He had accused the aircraft manufacturer of actively working against him after he revealed several safety problems with the manufacturer’s 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

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When he did not show up for follow-up questions, people were sent to his hotel in an attempt to find him. They found him dead in his car in the hotel parking lot with gunshot wounds consistent with suicide.

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As for Dean, according to his aunt, he should have been critically ill for two weeks, writes the Seattle Times. Before he became ill, Dean was said to have been healthy and known for a healthy lifestyle.

According to the aunt, Dean must have become ill and went to hospital because he had trouble breathing. He then developed pneumonia and a serious MRSA bacterial infection.

So far, there is no suspicion that anything criminal has happened in any of the cases.

Boeing in major crisis

For several years, Boeing has struggled with quality problems and accidents, particularly related to the Max series.

As recently as mid-March, it was discovered that one of the company’s planes was missing a panel, which was only discovered after it landed in Medford, Oregon.

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In January this year, a door panel came loose in a Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft. The aircraft thus had to make an emergency landing with a gaping hole in the side of the aircraft. Investigations have revealed that bolts that were supposed to hold the panel in place were missing after the aircraft had been repaired.

In 2018 and 2019, two 737 Max aircraft crashed in Indonesia and Ethiopia respectively due to errors in the aircraft’s automated control systems. A total of 346 people lost their lives. This led to the aircraft model being put on the ground for two years.

American aviation authorities have also launched extensive investigations after the latest incidents. Recently, an investigation was ordered into the work at one of Boeing’s factories near Seattle. The model 737 Max, which experienced losing a door panel in the air on 5 January, is built here.

Because of all this, Boeing has made major changes in management.

Both CEO Dave Calhoun and the head of the passenger aircraft department Stan Deal have announced their departure before the end of the year, writes NTB. Chairman Larry Kellner will also be on his way out.