Joshua Dean, a Boeing whistleblower and former quality auditor at Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems, who alleged gross misconduct in quality management by the company, died after a short illness.
He is the second whistleblower to die this year. Joshua Dean had reported manufacturing defects in Boeing’s 737 Max.
Second Boeing Whistleblower, Joshua Dean, Passes Away
Joshua Dean was a former quality auditor at Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems, which makes the fuselage of the 737 Max, had filed a complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and charged the senior quality management of the 737 production line at Spirit of gross misconduct on adhering to security protocols by Boeing.
Dean had also alleged that Spirit AeroSystems management had made false or misleading claims and when he reported the problem with the aft pressure bulkhead on the Boeing 737, a critical piece of the plane’s infrastructure he was ignored.
Two 737 Max aircraft were involved in fatal crashes, which killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019. Dean was fired from his post by Spirit last year and had filed a complaint with the Department of Labor alleging that his firing was a consequence of hum raising safety concerns.
Joshua Dean was hospitalized after he had breathing problems. He later became infected and developed pneumonia and a serious antibiotic-resistant infection called MRSA before dying two weeks later.
Dean’s aunt, Carol Dean Parsons, said via Facebook,
“He passed away yesterday morning, and his absence will be deeply felt. We will always love you, Josh.”
Another Boeing whistleblower John “Mitch” Barnett was found dead in March with gunshot wounds in what appeared to be a suicide. Barnett was represented by the same law firm which was also representing Dean.
Barnett, who worked for three decades at Boeing, stated in 2019 that he had uncovered instances where he found “clusters of metal slivers” hanging over the wiring of flight controls, which could have precipitated “catastrophic” damage if they had penetrated the wires. Barnett alleged that his complaints were ignored by Boeing management, and later he was transferred to another section of the plant.
Another Boeing whistleblower, Sam Salehpour, told Congress that there was no safety culture at the Boeing plant. He also alleged that any worker who raised these safety issues was overlooked, marginalized, made vulnerable, sidelined, and worse, threatened with physical violence if they went public with their concerns. U.S. regulators have now opened an inquiry after an incident of a mid-air door-panel blowout in January on a Boeing 737 Max 9.
According to a report by Reuters, the Justice Department is now contemplating whether Boeing had violated an agreement that protected it from criminal prosecution over the fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019.
