A Boeing whistleblower who raised concerns over the firm’s production standards was found dead in South Carolina in 2024. Two years later, his death would become a central mystery in the Netflix documentary Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing. Local authorities confirmed at the time that they found John Barnett, a former Boeing employee, dead in his truck in a hotel parking lot over the weekend.
Police said he suffered a “self-inflicted” gunshot wound. The Charleston County Corner’s Office agreed, ruling that the death was a suicide. Mr Barnett had been giving evidence in a lawsuit against Boeing in the days before his death, having first blown the whistle on alleged aircraft safety issues in 2019.
Boeing has responded to Mr Barnett’s death, saying: “We are saddened by Mr Barnett’s passing, and our thoughts are with his family and friends.” Mr Barnett worked at Boeing for over three decades, retiring in 2017 after 32 years with the company. From 2010, he worked as a quality manager at their North Charleston plant in South Carolina, where he worked on the 787 Dreamliner long-haul passenger aircraft. Since retiring, Mr Barnett was engaged in legal action against his former employer for disparaging his character and hampering his career after being forced to retire for raising issues about the company.
Boeing denies this, claiming that Mr Barnett’s retirement plans were long-standing, and that they had “in no way negatively impacted Mr Barnett’s ability to continue in whatever chosen profession he so wishes”. The qualified aerospace engineer had been giving evidence in a lawsuit related to this case in recent days and was due to return for questioning on Saturday 9 March. Inquiries were made at his hotel when he did not arrive, which is when his body was found.
In 2019, Mr Barnett shared concerns about his former employer with the BBC, alleging issues with the oxygen system on board the 787 Dreamliner. The qualified aerospace engineer raised concerns that passengers on board the aircraft could be left without oxygen in case of sudden cabin decompression. After finding some oxygen bottles were not discharging, Mr Barnett commissioned a test of 300 brand new oxygen systems.
He claimed 75 of them – a quarter – did not deploy properly. He claimed that Boeing had blocked him from looking into the matter further. He then went to the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) to complain, but they were unable to substantiate the claim as Boeing had informed them it was working to resolve the issue at the time.
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