Second Boeing whistleblower found dead. Here’s a timeline of the company’s mounting problems.

On By Vaseline

A Boeing whistleblower died Tuesday morning in Wichita, Kansas, after spending two weeks in critical condition in the hospital after suffering a sudden infection, the Seattle Times reported.

In early 2023, Joshua Dean, who was a quality auditor at Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems, accused Spirit leadership of ignoring production defects on the Boeing 737 Max model. He was fired from Spirit in April 2023.

Dean is the second Boeing whistleblower to die in the past two months. John Barnett was found dead in March of an apparent suicide, in the middle of his statement against Boeing.

Boeing has been under increasing scrutiny since early 2024, and company executives were forced to testify at a Senate hearing in mid-April about whether the company’s corporate culture prioritized money-saving measures over safety in production of the 787 Dreamliner and the 777 aircraft. .

🚨What just happened?

The Seattle Times reported on Dean’s death on May 1, noting that family members had said he was “in good health and known for his healthy lifestyle” before he was struck by a “sudden, rapidly spreading infection.”

Dean had filed a complaint with the Department of Labor after being fired from Spirit, claiming he was fired for raising safety concerns. He had deposed in a lawsuit against Spirit shareholders and filed a complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) about the 737 production line at Spirit.

In November, the FAA sent Dean a letter saying it had completed its investigation into the safety issues he noted, although it is unclear whether the FAA has made an official decision regarding Dean’s allegations.

Attorney Brian Knowles, who represented both Dean and Barnett, told the newspaper he did not want to speculate on the timing of Dean’s death.

“Whistleblowers are necessary. They expose misconduct and corruption in the interest of society. It takes a lot of courage to stand up,” Knowles said. “It is a difficult set of circumstances. Our thoughts are now with John and Josh’s family.”

🗓️Let’s rewind. How did we get here?

  • FAA announces investigation into a near miss at LaGuardia Airport involving Southwest Airlines’ 737 on March 23.

  • Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 makes an emergency landing at Preston Smith International Airport after a small fire in the left engine.

  • Boeing will pay Alaska Airlines $160 million to make up for losses the airline suffered due to the in-flight door plug burnout.

  • FAA announces investigation into claims made by new Boeing whistleblower Sam Salehpour, an engineer who had worked on the 787 and 777 planes. He claimed that the planes were not properly secured together and he worried that the planes could fall apart mid-flight after years of use.

  • United Airlines claims the emergency landing of the Boeing 737 Max 9 plane cost the company $200 million in the first three months of the year.

  • During a Senate hearing, lawmakers called several aviation safety specialists and former Boeing employees to testify. Witness Sam Salehpour, a quality engineer at Boeing, alleged that the company had ignored all the problems he noticed with the 787 aircraft and that he was “subject to threats of violence from my supervisor” after he spoke out.

Read more from the Associated Press: Boeing is under Senate scrutiny during back-to-back hearings on plane makers’ safety culture

  • The FBI is investigating the January Alaska Airlines flight in which a door plug blew off the plane mid-flight – and has told passengers they may be “a possible victim of a crime.”

  • The FAA 737 Max production audit finds multiple instances where Boeing allegedly failed to meet quality control requirements in production.

  • In two separate incidents, a Boeing 777-200 loses a wheel during takeoff from San Francisco and a Boeing 737 slides off the runway after landing in Houston.

  • The following week, a prominent Boeing whistleblower – former employee John Barnett – dies by suicide while in Charleston, S.C., for a deposition for a lawsuit against Boeing.

  • A Boeing 787 Dreamliner nosedives during a flight from Sydney to Auckland, New Zealand, injuring at least 50 people, while on the same day a Boeing 777 flight from Sydney has to turn around due to a maintenance problem.

  • Another Boeing 777 has to make an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport after pilots report a flat tire.

  • A Boeing 737 that took off from San Francisco later that week was found to be missing a panel during a post-flight inspection.

  • Boeing sues Virgin Galactic for stealing trade secrets.

  • Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun announces he will step down at the end of this year. Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stan Deal is retiring and Boeing Chairman Larry Kellner will not seek re-election as a board member.

  • A United Airlines Boeing 777 flight from San Francisco to Paris was diverted to Denver due to an engine problem.

  • A United Airlines Boeing 787 aircraft en route to Newark, NJ, from Tel Aviv, Israel, was forced to make an emergency landing at New York Stewart International Airport due to extreme turbulence. Seven passengers were taken to hospital and 15 were treated at the scene for their injuries.

  • An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 jet from Honolulu to Anchorage, Alaska, was forced to turn back after a faulty bathroom sink flooded the cabin.

Whistleblowers, dives and a DOJ investigation: Read more about Boeing’s March accidents on Yahoo News

Read more from BBC News: Passenger describes being on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282

Read more from Reuters: US lawmakers blame FAA and Boeing for deadly 737 Max crashes

“We’ve known about Boeing for five years,” Mark Pegram, father of one of the Syrian Airlines flight victims, told NPR in March. “I think the rest of the world is finally realizing that these weren’t just isolated incidents.”

Boeing has paid billions of dollars in settlements since 2018, and the company and its leaders entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department in January 2021 that has so far helped them avoid criminal charges.

Boeing paid $1.77 billion to compensate airline customers, $243.6 million in criminal fines and $500 million for a compensation fund for family members of crash victims, CNN reported.

A year-long FAA-commissioned panel investigation was critical of Boeing’s safety culture and concluded that executives and employees failed to adhere to safety standards, according to a report released in February. The survey also found that many employees feared retaliation if they spoke out.