Second Boeing whistleblower dies within two months, raising concerns about safety culture: Company: Business Times

Joshua Dean, a former quality auditor at Spirit AeroSystems and whistleblower who raised concerns about the company’s manufacturing practices for Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft, died suddenly Tuesday morning from a fast-spreading mysterious infection. The 45-year-old Wichita, Kansas resident was in good health until he was hospitalized with breathing difficulties about two weeks ago.

Dean’s condition rapidly deteriorated and he tested positive for influenza B, MRSA and pneumonia. He was intubated, dialyzed and eventually airlifted to another hospital in Oklahoma City, where a CT scan showed he had also suffered a stroke. Doctors considered amputating his hands and feet, which had turned black from the infection, before his death.

“He is in the worst condition I have ever known or heard of. Even the hospital agrees,” his sister-in-law, Kristen Dean, wrote on Facebook on Saturday, describing the life-saving procedures doctors tried to save him.

Dean had raised the alarm about defects in 2022 while working at Spirit Aerosystems, a Kansas-based company that produces aircraft parts for Boeing. He alleged that the company ignored manufacturing defects, such as improperly drilled bulkhead holes in parts for Boeing 373 Max aircraft. Less than a year after raising these concerns, he was fired.

“I think they were sending a message to someone else,” Dean later told NPR of his firing. “If you are too loud, we will silence you.”

After his dismissal, Dean filed a complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration, alleging that he had been made a scapegoat in Spirit’s attempt to keep Boeing’s production problems secret. In November 2023, he also filed a complaint with the Department of Labor for wrongful termination, which was still pending at the time of his death.

Dean’s claims were supported by one of his former colleagues after an incident in January involving a door hatch that flew off a Boeing 737 Max 9 during an Alaska Airlines flight. “It’s well known at Spirit that if you make too much noise and cause too much trouble, you get upset,” Dean told the Wall Street Journal earlier this year.

Dean’s death comes less than two months after another Boeing whistleblower, John Barnett, died in March of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Barnett’s lawyers expressed concern over his death, stating “we saw no indication that he was going to commit suicide…no one can believe it”, and urged a thorough investigation.

Both Dean and Barnett were represented by the same attorney, Brian Knowles, who told TIME: “Josh’s passing is a loss to the aviation community and the flying public. He had tremendous courage to stand up for what he felt was true and right. quality and safety issues.”

When asked about the growing theories linking the successive deaths of his clients, Knowles said he would “like to see the evidence from the investigating authorities,” adding that “what society doesn’t need is people are those who are afraid to say something.’

Spirit Aerosystems extended their condolences in a statement to multiple outlets, saying, “Our thoughts are with Josh Dean’s family. This sudden loss is stunning news here and for his loved ones.”

The deaths of these two whistleblowers in a short period of time has raised concerns about the safety culture at Boeing and its suppliers. As the company faces intense criticism following recent incidents, such as the loss of a fuselage section during an Alaska Airlines flight in January, the importance of whistleblowers in ensuring the safety and quality of aircraft production has become increasingly apparent.

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