Whistleblower Boeing dead: Second whistleblower, Joshua Dean, dies after raising safety concerns - not long after John Barnett found dead

A second Boeing whistleblower has died after a sudden illness on Tuesday (30 April), according to The Seattle Times. Joshua Dean was a former quality auditor at Spirit AeroSystems which is the supplier for Boeing. He had gone public with claims that the company’s leadership had ignored manufacturing defects in Boeing’s 737 MAX. 

According to Fox59 the 45-year-old was struck down with Influenza B and MRSA, and developed pneumonia. He spent two weeks in critical condition before he died.

Dean was believed to be in good health prior to his “sudden” death and had an active lifestyle. His sister, Taylor Rae Roberts, posted on Facebook: “My handsome brother Joshua passed away this morning and is with our baby brother. I don’t know how much more my family can take. I don’t know how much more I can take honestly.”

Spirit spokesperson Joe Buccino said: “Our thoughts are with Josh Dean’s family. This sudden loss is stunning news here and for his loved ones.”

Dean is the second whistleblower to die this year after coming forward about safety issues to do with Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems. Boeing whistleblower John Barnett, 62, was found dead in his truck in a hotel parking lot in South Carolina in March.

Both of their public claims came after the incident which occurred on 5 January that saw an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9’s door plug blow off in mid-air. The incident led to the grounding of all MAX 9 jets by the FAA and an investigation was launched, with at least four whistleblowers coming forward to reveal that corners were cut. 

Dean said that “serious and gross misconduct by senior quality management of the 737 production line” had taken place at Spirit, in a complaint to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). He also testified in a shareholder lawsuit against Spirit AeroSystems, filed in December 2023. 

The shareholders alleged that Spirit “concealed from investors that Spirit suffered from widespread and sustained quality failures,” and that “quality failures” occurred because the company was chasing profits, Supply Chain Dive reports.

Those “quality failures” were so serious that Boeing put Spirit AeroSystems on probation between 2018 until at least 2021, which prohibited the supplier from shipping parts to Boeing without managerial approval, the lawsuit claims. In January, Dean told the Wall Street Journal that he had been fired in 2023 for pointing out that holes in jet fuselages had been drilled wrong. 

He said: “It is known at Spirit that if you make too much noise and cause too much trouble, you will be moved. It doesn’t mean you completely disregard stuff, but they don’t want you to find everything and write it up.”

Spirit AeroSystems told the WSJ that it disagreed with Dean’s characterisation and that the company would defend itself in court. Dean’s attorney, Brian Knowles, told The Seattle Times that he did not want to speculate on the nature of his client’s death but stressed the importance of whistleblowers.

He said: “Whistleblowers are needed. They bring to light wrongdoing and corruption in the interests of society. It takes a lot of courage to stand up. It’s a difficult set of circumstances. Our thoughts now are with John’s family and Josh’s family.”