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A second Boeing whistleblower has died after a sudden illness.
Joshua Dean, a former quality auditor at Spirit AeroSystems, went public with claims that the company’s leadership ignored manufacturing defects in Boeing’s 737 MAX. Spirit AeroSystems is a Boeing supplier, The Seattle Times reports.
Dean, 45, had an active lifestyle and was believed to be in good health prior to his “sudden” death on Tuesday, following the onset of a sudden, fast-moving infection. He was stricken with Influenza B and MRSA, and developed pneumonia, according to Fox59.
He spent two weeks in critical condition before he died on Tuesday.
“Our thoughts are with Josh Dean’s family. This sudden loss is stunning news here and for his loved ones,” Spirit spokesperson Joe Buccino said.
Dean’s death is the latest point on a the timeline of strange mishaps that have plagued Boeing for more than a year.
On 5 January, a door plug panel on a new Alaska Airlines’ Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft tore off while it was cruising at 16,000 feet.
The FAA subsequently grounded 171 of the company’s MAX 9 aircrafts for review. It has also prohibited the company from increasing production of the MAX series aircraft, and has ordered it to develop a comprehensive plan to address “systemic quality-control issues”.
The Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into the Alaska Airlines incident. The investigation will centre on whether Boeing complied with a 2021 settlement it agreed to after a pair of deadly crashes that were attributed to faults in its 737 MAX Maneuvering Characterists Augmentation System, Forbes reports.
The Alaska Airlines flight wasn’t just the impetus for a federal investigation, it also was a “watershed moment” that drove the Boeing CEO and two other top executives to resign.
On 25 Monday, Mr Calhoun said the Alaska Airlines flight 1282 incident was a “watershed moment” for Boeing, and said he would resign at the end of 2024. He insisted that the company needed a more “transparent” approach going forward.
“We must continue to respond to this accident with humility and complete transparency. We also must inculcate a total commitment to safety and quality at every level of our company,” Mr Calhoun wrote.
Dean’s actions suggest he agreed that more transparency was needed in the industry; he was fired from Spirit Aerosystems in April 2023, and he complained later that his termination was in retaliation for raising issues with the company over aircraft safety.
He said that “serious and gross misconduct by senior quality management of the 737 production line” had taken place at Spirit, in a complaint to the Federal Aviation Administration.
He is the second whistleblower to die this year after coming forward about safety issues in the aviation manufacturing industry.
Boeing whistleblower John Barnett, 62, was found dead in his truck in a hotel parking lot in South Carolina in March.
Barnett spoke out about alleged safety problems at the aircraft manufacturing giant and had been giving evidence in a lawsuit against the company prior to his death.
He had voiced safety concerns about the airline’s manufacturing facilities and gave his initial testimony just days before he was found dead. His death appeared to be from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the Charleston County coroner told BBC News.
Barnett alleged that in 2019, Boeing intentionally used defective parts in its planes and warned that passengers on its 787 Dreamliner might face a lack of oxygen if a sudden decompression occurred.
At that time, Boeing refuted his assertions, stating that the company follows the strictest safety protocols.
According to The Washington Post, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has been conducting interviews with witnesses, including the crew on the Alaska Air flight, as part of its investigation.
Mr Barnett had been staying at a hotel while in town to provide a deposition in the case.
His attorney, Brian Knowles, told TMZ that he had doubts about the circumstances of his death.
“Today is a tragic day,” Mr Knowles wrote in an email to Corporate Crime Reporter. “John had been back and forth for quite some time getting prepared. The defence examined him for their allowed seven hours under the rules on Thursday.”
Mr Knowles also represented Dean. He told The Seattle Times he did not want to speculate on the nature of his clients’ deaths, but stressed the importance of whistleblowers.
“Whistleblowers are needed. They bring to light wrongdoing and corruption in the interests of society. It takes a lot of courage to stand up,” the attorney said. “It’s a difficult set of circumstances. Our thoughts now are with John’s family and Josh’s family.”
