A second whistleblower has died after raising concerns about the safety of Boeing aircrafts.
Joshua Dean, 45, was a former quality auditor for a major Boeing supplier in Wichita, Kansas, and had raised concerns about improper manufacturing practices prior to his death.
In 2023, he was fired from his position after allegedly bringing up various safety concerns with management at the company. He subsequently filed a formal complaint to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) over what he witnessed during his time working as an auditor.
His death comes just two months after John Barret, another Boeing whistleblower, allegedly died from suicide one day after testifying against Boeing.
According to Dean’s family, he passed away in the hospital on Tuesday morning, having tested positive for an MRSA staph infection and influenza B. He initially had difficulty breathing, before developing pneumonia, after which he was in critical conditions for two weeks.
As the infection progressed, he was put on dialysis and airlifted to a medical facility in Oklahoma City, where he was connected to an ECMO machine, which took over the essential heart and lung functions in the body. His medical team also performed a CT scan and determined that he had also suffered a stroke.
According to media outlets, Dean was previously in good health and was known for having a healthy lifestyle.
At one point, his health worsened to the point where his doctors considered amputating his limbs.
Eventually, he decided to refuse treatment. A day prior to his death, he had undergone a bronchoscopy and had successfully made it through the procedure. Despite that, he passed away suddenly the following morning.
Represented By The Same Law Firm As Barnett
Dean was working with the same law firm that had represented Barnett prior to his death. Barnett, 62, was scheduled to appear in court to answer questions related to the Boeing lawsuit when he failed to show up.
He was eventually found dead in his hotel from an alleged self-inflicted wood. Investigators are currently still working on his case.
Brian Knowles, the lawyer who was representing Dean, said he did not want to speculate about their deaths as there is currently no evidence that suggests they are connected. He described it as ‘a difficult set of circumstances’ and offered his condolences to Dean’s family.
Dean Raised Safety Concerns of the Boeing Aircraft
Dean had been working at Spirit Aerosystems, one of Boeing’s major parts suppliers, since 2019. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was let go among many others, but eventually returned to the company as a quality auditor the following year.
Dean was known for taking his job seriously and had grown ‘increasingly frustrated’ with what he witnessed at the company.
In January, he did two interviews, during which he said Spirit was pressuring its employees not to report plane defects so that aircrafts could exit the factory faster.
After pointing out the improperly drilled holes in April of last year, he was subsequently fired.
In his complaint to the FAA, Dean said he witnessed severe manufacturing flaws at Spirit AeroSystems while the fuselage was being constructed for the Boeing 737 Max.
He said he witnessed mechanics drilling improper holes toward the rear part of the fuselage and that they had also fitted the vertical tail fins to the aft pressure bulkhead improperly.
Still, Dean remained optimistic about the future, especially after Patrick Shananhan took over as CEO as he believed he would ‘change the company’s culture for the better’.
