By George Hetling
Boeing/Spirit AeroSystems whistleblower Joshua Dean was found dead on April 30, within two weeks of contracting influenza B, which developed into MRSA and pneumonia.
Joshua Dean was known by friends and family as a “health nut,” as he was rarely sick. This is the second death of a whistleblower in the ongoing scandals regarding the manufacturing standards of Boeing and its contractor Spirit AeroSystems, which makes the fuselages for the 737 MAX planes. Spirit has been linked to numerous manufacturing defects, including the door plug that flew off the Alaska Airlines plane mid-flight earlier this year.
In October 2022, Dean, who was a quality auditor for Spirit, initially raised concerns over holes that were improperly drilled in the bulkhead of the 737 MAX, which could lead to the cabin depressurizing mid-flight. In April 2023, Boeing and Spirit announced another, separate manufacturing defect in the same model of plane related to fittings on the tailfin. Spirit fired Dean later that month. Dean claimed in a deposition that he may have missed this issue because of his focus on the bulkhead problems.
Then, ten months after Dean’s initial report to supervisors regarding the bulkhead, Boeing publicly reported the defect. Dean filed a complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) over those issues, claiming that Spirit had fired him as a scapegoat. He also filed a wrongful-termination lawsuit with the U.S. Department of Labor, which was ongoing at the time of his death.
The death of John Barnett, a Boeing whistleblower who died two months prior, was also recently ruled a suicide by Charleston Police Department. When his parents were asked by CBS News whether they hold Boeing responsible for his son’s death, they said “If this hadn’t gone on so long, I’d still have my son, and my sons would have their brother and we wouldn’t be sitting here. So in that respect, I do.”
In addition to producing aircraft for commercial use, Boeing is the 4th largest defense contractor in the world by revenue as of 2022, producing aircraft, missiles, rockets, and satellites for the US and many other countries.
32 separate whistleblowers have made claims against Boeing over the past 3 years, mainly around unsafe cost-cutting practices.
Boeing is currently in the process of acquiring Spirit AeroSystems.
