Boeing’s second whistleblower has died after a short illness

A former Boeing supplier quality auditor who made serious allegations against the airline has died after a short illness.

Forty-five-year-old Joshua Dean, who drew attention to the manufacturing defects of the 737 MAX aircraft, thus became the second Boeing whistleblower to die this year, The Guardian reported.

A former quality auditor at Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems has filed a complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) alleging “serious and gross misconduct by senior quality management on the 737 production line.” Dean was fired by the company last year and an auditor filed a complaint with the Department of Labor alleging retaliation for raising safety concerns.

According to the Seattle Times, Dean was hospitalized after having trouble breathing. He developed pneumonia and a serious infection and died two weeks later.

Dean was represented by the same law firm that represented another Boeing whistleblower, John Barnett. Barnett, 62, was found dead in March from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. He also drew attention to serious defects in production. He claimed management ignored his complaints and moved him to another part of the plant.

In January of this year, part of the fuselage of an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX plane broke off in mid-air, and the FAA responded by banning the company from increasing production of the planes. The FAA also said it found numerous non-compliance issues in Boeing’s supply chain.

In 2018 and 2019, a total of 346 people died in two serious accidents involving Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The planes were then taken out of service for more than a year and a half due to the decision of the authorities all over the world. Reuters reported last month that the Justice Department is now considering whether Boeing violated an agreement that shielded it from criminal prosecution over fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019.