John Barnett, a former Boeing employee who flagged safety problems at the aircraft manufacturer, was found dead on Saturday.
The Charleston County coroner in South Carolina confirmed Barnett's death to the BBC on Monday.
Who was John Barnett?
John Barnett worked for the American aerospace giant Boeing for more than thirty years, until his retirement. The 62-year-old retired in 2017 for health reasons. After his retirement, Barnett began a long-running legal action against the company.
Days before his death, Barnett had given testimony in a whistleblower lawsuit against the company. He worked as a quality manager at the North Charleston plant and made the 787 Dreamliner starting in 2010. It should be noted that the 787 Dreamliner is a state-of-the-art aircraft that is mainly used on long-haul routes.
What John Barnett revealed
In 2019, speaking to the BBC, Barnett revealed that defective parts had been deliberately fitted to aircraft by a group of production workers at one of Boeing's factories.
He discovered a number of serious problems with the oxygen systems, which could even mean that one in four respirators would not work during an emergency.
Barnett reportedly claimed that passengers on his 787 Dreamliner could run out of oxygen if the cabin suddenly underwent decompression.
Pointing to a few tests, Barnett said a quarter of oxygen systems may be faulty and may not work when needed.
After testing emergency oxygen systems, Barnett found that the 787 Dreamliner had a 25 percent failure rate.
He said that in an attempt to build a new aircraft, the assembly process in South Carolina was rushed, leading to a safety hazard.
Not only this, but the workers also failed to keep track of the components in the factory, resulting in the defective components being lost.
He even accused the company of using substandard parts from scrap bins and installing them on the planes in an effort to avoid delays on the production line.
Although he informed managers of his concerns, no action was taken. However, in 2017 an investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the US regulator, confirmed some of Barnett's concerns.
How Boeing responded to these accusations
Boeing denied Barnett's allegations and said all its planes were built to the highest levels of safety and quality. The company emphasized that “safety, quality and integrity are at the core of Boeing's values.”