THE BOEING whistleblower who was found dead this week warned about serious quality concerns just months before his death.
John Barnett, 62, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound this past Saturday as Boeing continues to battle a lawsuit against former employees.
NetflixJohn Barnett was found dead this week after being involved in a lawsuit against Boeing[/caption]
GettyBoeing is currently being investigated by the FAA[/caption]
His attorney, Brian Knowles, told BBC that Barnett was in the middle of a deposition in the lawsuit between Boeing and its former employees.
Barnett oversaw production standards for Boeing airplanes for more than 32 years before he stepped forward and shared safety concerns with the media.
After he retired from the company in 2017, Barnett came forward with serious safety concerns regarding Boeing’s quality and production standards.
But the former employee said that the technical issues he witnessed weren’t limited to 737 models; these problems plagued the whole airline.
“This is not a 737 problem – this is a Boeing problem,” Barnett told the Daily Mail.
Barnett previously claimed he witnessed a 737 aircraft door flying off its hinges, per TMZ.
“I know the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) is going in and [doing] due diligence and inspections to ensure the door close on the 737 is installed properly and the fasteners are stored properly.
“But, my concern is, ‘What’s the rest of the airplane? What’s the condition of the rest of the airplane?’”
“My concerns are with the 737 and 787, because those programs have really embraced the theory that quality is overhead and non-value added,” continued Barnett.
“Those two programs have really put a strong effort into removing quality from the process.”
Barnett claimed that safety standards were not met between 2010 and 2014.
He shared that once new leadership took over, they began to shift things around and cut corners in hopes of saving time and money.
“They were from the military side,” he said to Corporate Crime Reporter.
“My impression was their mindset was – we are going to do it the way we want to do it.
“Their motto at the time was – we are in Charleston and we can do anything we want.”
“They started bypassing procedures and not maintaining configurement control of airplanes, not maintaining control of non-conforming parts – they just wanted to get the planes pushed out the door and make the cash register ring.”
Boeing has denied Barnett’s claims but a 2017 investigation by the FAA found issues that plagued their aircraft.
The FAA found that at least 53 non-conforming parts with unknown locations in the factory.
They also found that mechanics at Spirit AeroSystems, one of Boeing’s suppliers, used hotel key cards to check door seals and Dawn soap as a lubricant.
“Boeing must commit to real and profound improvements,” said FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker.
“We are going to hold them accountable every step of the way, with mutually understood milestones and expectations.”
Meanwhile, Boeing has been facing a lawsuit claiming workers were forced to fit sub-standard parts into the company’s airplanes.
In addition, this past Monday, 50 passengers were injured in a shaking event that occurred on a Boeing 787 flight.
The cause for the shake is currently under investigation.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Boeing for comment.
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