CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – The estate of a man who brought to light safety concerns at Boeing’s South Carolina facility filed a lawsuit in federal court Wednesday claiming the aerospace giant is responsible for the man’s death.
62-year-old John Barnett was found dead on March 9, 2024, inside his vehicle from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the Holiday Inn parking lot off Savannah Highway, according to the Charleston County Coroner’s Office.
The Louisiana native was in Charleston for depositions related to his ongoing whistleblower lawsuit against his former employer.
The 32-year Boeing veteran had worked at Boeing’s Everett facility before being transferred to the North Charleston site to head up the new 787 program.
Barnett’s whistleblower complaint detailed issues like employees being pressured to violate FAA standards by not fixing part defects resulting in incomplete build records, implementing a program that allowed mechanics to inspect and approve their work, and engineers not documenting foreign object debris found in panels and electrical components.
When Barnett reported the concerns, he was the subject “of harassment, abuse, and intimidation intended to discourage, discredit, and humiliate him” by upper management, the suit claims.
Not only was he harassed, but Boeing superiors demoted him, blacklisted him from other divisions, and socially isolated him from his team. In early 2017, a doctor diagnosed Barnett with PTSD as a result of the ongoing attacks,...
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