The whistleblower who went public about problems at Boeing was found dead and many online are saying it was a planned hit put out by the company.
(PLGNN) - Former Boeing employee John Barnett, 62, has been found dead in South Carolina. The Charleston County Coroner said Barnett died from a "what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound."
Barnett worked at Boeing for 32 years and retired in 2017. From 2010-2017, he worked as a quality manager at Boeing's North Charleston plant, which manufactured the 787 Dreamliner, which is the subject of a large amount of whistleblower complaints.
According to CBS, "Barnett told the BBC in 2019 that he had uncovered serious problems with oxygen systems on the long-haul jet. Boeing said that it had 'identified some oxygen bottles received from the supplier that were not deploying properly,' the BBC said, but said that none of those defective bottles were ever installed." Boeing has denied these allegations.
Barnett was in Charleston this week to give a formal deposition in relation to a defamation lawsuit he filed against Boeing. He was expected to appear for further questioning on Saturday, but failed to appear and was instead found dead in his truck at the hotel parking lot.
Barnett's family gave CBS a statement saying, "He was looking forward to having his day in court and hoped that it would force Boeing to change its culture."
However, there are many suspicious circumstances surrounding Barnett's death. X (formerly Twitter) user and investor @CollinRugg tweeted that, "Police reportedly dusted the inside and outside of Boeing whistleblower John Barnett's truck for fingerprints despite being a suicide investigation."
@CollinRugg also said in the tweet that all the individuals who had recently come into contact with Barnett said that he didn't seem out of the ordinary and that he didn't seem depressed.
Many users online are saying it was a hit put out by Boeing, with some comparing his death to that of financier Jeffrey Epstein, who randomly committed suicide after his arrest. One user on X said, "He was obviously killed, it isn't even a question in my mind lol".