John Mitchell Barnett (1961/2 – March 9, 2024) retired from Boeing in 2017 citing health reasons. He worked in the US-based multinational corporation for 32 years. Recently, the aerospace engineer raised questions about the quality of the company’s production and also submitted evidence of his allegations against Boeing, which designs, manufactures and sells aircraft, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment and missiles worldwide, to the concerned authorities. Thereafter, the former Quality Control Manager (at Boeing) became popular as a whistleblower, and came under immense pressure. The US Police found the body of the 62-year-old Barnett inside a truck in Charleston, South Carolina on March 9, 2024.

A hotel staff member, who discovered Barnett’s body in his pickup truck and informed the Police, claimed that the aerospace engineer was holding a silver pistol in his hand and appeared to have died from a single gunshot wound to the head. Apparently, it seems that Barnett committed suicide.

However, Barnett’s close family friend Jennifer (who did not share her surname) triggered a sensation by claiming that it was not a suicide! She said: “I know that he did not kill himself. That is impossible. He was not concerned about safety because I asked him.” Jennifer told the press: “I said, ‘Aren’t you scared?’ And he said, ‘No, I ain’t sacred, but if anything happens to me, it is not suicide.’“

Barnett not only sued Boeing, but also submitted several pieces of evidence to the court in support of his statement. He informed the court that the employees of Boeing work under tremendous pressure. According to Barnett, the quality of the work deteriorates as employees have to strictly follow the deadline. He further informed the court that sub-standard parts were being used in Boeing’s aircraft to meet the deadline. For example, 25% of the oxygen system in the 787 Dreamliner is not in good condition. In other words, one-fourth of the oxygen masks would not work in case of a real-life emergency situation. Barnett submitted to the court that he had complained about the matter to higher authorities. However, the top Boeing management ignored the issue.

After testifying in court, pressure mounted on Barnett. During their recent meeting, he discussed the issue with Jennifer. Jennifer told the media that some people were trying to keep Barnett mum as many did not like what he leaked about Boeing. According to Jennifer, these people are trying to project his death as suicide.

BBC reported that Barnett had been in Charleston for legal interviews linked to the case at the time of his demise. A week before his death, Barnett gave a formal deposition in which he was questioned by Boeing’s lawyers, before being cross-examined by his own counsel. He was all set to undergo further questioning on March 9. When he did not appear, enquiries were made at his hotel and his body was found inside a truck in the hotel car park. Later, Barnett’s lawyer described his death as tragic, while Boeing issued a statement, mentioning: “We are saddened by Barnett’s passing, and our thoughts are with his family and friends.“

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das