A whistleblower who accused a Boeing supplier of ignoring defects in the production of the 737 MAX has died, his family members have said.
Former Spirit AeroSystems employee Joshua Dean, who alleged he was fired by the company manufacturing Boeing parts for raising concerns over safety standards at the company's Wichita, Kansas (USA), manufacturing plant, died on Tuesday after sudden illness, his family said in social media posts.
Another Boeing whistleblower John Barnett, 62, was found dead on March 9 this year from what South Carolina authorities said was an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Dean's aunts and sister announced his death on social media posts.
Seattle Times breaking the news, said Dean, also a resident of Wichita, was 45 years old and had “been in good health and was noted for having a healthy lifestyle.”
His mother had, however, posted on Facebook earlier that he had been “fighting for his life” after contracting pneumonia and suffering a stroke following an MRSA infection. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or 'staph' bacteria found on human skin is usually harmless but can cause serious infections often leading to death.
Dean's aunt Carol Parsol said he fell ill unexpectedly and was hospitalised after complaining of respiratory problems two weeks back.
A 737 MAX 9 mid-flight door panel malfunction in January this year had brought Spirit AeroSystems under the scanner as it had reportedly built the part.
Passenger videos showed a plug (which seals a part of the plane that can be used as a door, closing off the opening if a door hasn’t been installed) popping off a flight from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California.
In a complaint filed with the Federal Aviation Administration against Sprit AeroSystems, Dean had flagged serious failings at its production facility.
He had also testified in a shareholder lawsuit against the company.
In an interview in February to a US news outlet, Dean said his firing had been a message to others wanting to speak out.
John Barnett retired in 2017 "on health grounds," after working for more than 30 years with Boeing.
He had been giving evidence in a whistleblower lawsuit against the company days before his death. Employed as a quality manager at Boeing's North Charleston Plant were the 787 Dreamliner is built, he had raised concerns over safety issues in the company's commercial planes.
His body had been found in a vehicle at the Holiday Inn parking lot in Charleston a day after he testified in the deposition related to problems he allegedly identified at the Boeing plant.
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