The family of a Boeing whistleblower who died by suicide has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the aircraft manufacturer, alleging that the company subjected him to a “concerted campaign of harassment, abuse, and intimidation.”
Boeing did its best to “discourage, discredit, and humiliate” John Barnett, as he worked to document and remedy defects and uphold standards at the company, according to the suit, obtained by The Independent.
The 62-year-old quality control engineer, who had worked at Boeing for 32 years, was found dead at a South Carolina hotel in March 2024. A coroner later ruled that he died by suicide. At the time, he was testifying in a lawsuit against the aircraft manufacturer.
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The lawsuit filed on Wednesday in South Carolina Supreme Court said Barnett had been “proud of his job and was initially proud of Boeing.”
“He took his role seriously in protecting the flying public, and he believed that he had a personal, legal, and moral obligation to ensure, to the best of his ability, that every possible defect was identified, documented, and remedied.
“When John tried to do his job, Boeing Management pressured him to not document defects or to not properly document the aircraft build record in order to avoid production delays.
“When John persisted, Management embarked on a concerted campaign of harassment, abuse, and intimidation intended to discourage, discredit, and humiliate him until he would either give up or be discredited.”
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